Dog's nose for whale poop big help to B.C. orca researchers

Killer whale poop, sniffed out by a specially trained, excitable Labrador-cross, is showing that endangered southern resident orcas may not be finding enough to eat.

Researchers from the University of Washington's Center for Conservation Biology have just completed their third season testing whale scat around Juan de Fuca Strait and Puget Sound, looking for clues to why the population is shrinking.

"What pops out right away is that there are lower thyroid hormone levels in the years when there are higher rates of mortality," said Katherine Ayres, a graduate student who is working on the whale project with Sam Wasser, director of the centre.

"This suggests they are experiencing nutritional deficits. We can tell, according to the thyroid hormone, they are not doing as well this year as the year before," Ayres said.

This year seven members of the three southern resident pods have died, including two breeding age females, bringing the population to 83. The recent population high was 97 in 1996.

"Alarm bells are going off. It is pretty devastating for such a small population," Ayres said.

Lack of chinook salmon - the food favoured by resident killer whales - noise from marine traffic and toxins have been identified in previous studies as probable causes of the decline.

If funding allows, the Center for Conservation Biology hopes to expand its research to look at toxins and the effects of boat traffic.

"With these studies we can start giving answers before the animals die and we can take mitigation measures," Ayres said.

The slimy, green excrement is found by Tucker, a four-year-old Lab who stands on the bow of the center's research boat and goes into paroxysms of excitement when he smells whale poop, which means it can be scooped by researchers.

Last year, researchers tried following the pods more closely and scooping poop without Tucker's help, but it was found everything worked better with a dog.

"It was more a human learning curve than a dog learning curve," said Ayres, who believes Tucker is incredibly good at his job.

Program co-ordinator Heath Smith identified Tucker's talents. Tucker had already failed as a house pet and been rejected for police work.

"I went to look at him and I knew he would be good at scat work. We haven't had a dog that has caught on quicker. He just knew this was what he wanted to do."

Before the whale project started, the centre was using dogs to sniff out scat from other animals, from grizzly bears to giant armadillos. Samples are used to test stress, exposure to toxins and diet.

When Tucker came to work for the centre it was not known he would be put on the whale project. But, then it was discovered he was afraid of water.

"We wanted a dog that was not so focused on getting in the water," Smith said.

"He still doesn't like it at all. If he does jump overboard we know there's scat in the water," he said.

Tucker is supposed to be pure Lab, but, with brindle feet and a huge head, Smith doubts his pedigreed. "He's adorable. He's part of the family," he said.