29th Annual Meeting and Symposium of the
Desert Tortoise Council, February 20-23, 2004
Abstracts

Desert Tortoise Clearance Surveys Using Scent Detector Dogs: Protocols, Efficacy, and Future Applications

William J. Vanherweg and Curtis D. Bjurlin
Wildlife Detector Dogs, 2510 4th Street, Bakersfield CA 93304

Accurate and economic wildlife census techniques have become increasingly important as human development continues to encroach on the habitat of threatened and endangered species. Lands that are slated for development often require mitigation based upon their habitat quality. One mitigation strategy is the relocation of imperiled species to wildlife preserves. Counting and retrieving individuals can be exceedingly difficult for a species such as the desert tortoise that is cryptically colored and spends much of its life inactive in burrows or dense vegetation. In January 2004 we systematically evaluated scent detector dogs at surveying for tortoises and identifying occupied burrows. Work was conducted at the Hyundai Test Track near Mojave, CA in the western Mojave Desert. Detector dogs were first tested on their abilities to locate 19 radio-tagged tortoises in winter hibernacula, then used to survey approximately one square mile of proposed development. The application of this technique to future desert tortoise surveys will be discussed.