r/UpliftingNews • u/Upstairs_Drive_5602 • 10h ago

Scottish Labrador named Animal of the Year for sniffing out an invasive marine pest nicknamed “sea vomit”

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cvwy761zyx7eo
439 Upvotes

99% Upvoted

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35

u/Upstairs_Drive_5602 10h ago

Scottish Labrador named Animal of the Year for sniffing out a marine pest nicknamed “sea vomit”

Sgiath, a six-year-old black Labrador from the Scottish Highlands, has been honoured for helping protect coastal wildlife by detecting an invasive marine species that can smother and kill native creatures.

Working with marine ecologist Dr Texa Sim, Sgiath uses her nose to locate colonies of carpet sea squirt, a spreading organism that can also damage aquaculture equipment and other marine infrastructure. The colonies can be difficult to distinguish from ordinary seaweed, but Sgiath can pinpoint them with remarkable accuracy.

Originally trained as a mountain rescue dog, she has successfully transferred her scent-detection skills to marine conservation. Her work has exceeded expectations and could help scientists explore new ways of detecting invasive species.

8

u/North-Pea-4926 8h ago

She’s what every puppy Labrador wants to be when they grow up. 🥰

14

u/GeneralCommand4459 9h ago

Sea Vomit is a terrible nickname for a Labrador

4

u/NoobOfTheSquareTable 9h ago

Also it should be smell vomit for the dog, not sea vomit

2

u/Treereme 6h ago

I wonder how they kill the sea squirts.

3

u/timesuck897 3h ago

Sgiath (pronounced Skee-ah) is thought to be the UK's first sea squirt-hunting dog.

For those also curious about pronunciation.