Sniffing for Whale Scat | Recent Work for The Wall Street Journal

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Conservation Canines invited Wall Street Journal reporter Joel Millman and I along for a whale scat collecting trip out in the San Juan Islands recently, and we were joined by Tucker, a black lab mix, who helps researchers find whale poo. His nose can catch whale scat that can be hard to find, and much smaller than you might expect.

The orca whale crew is affiliated with the University of Washington, and is part of a larger project that uses dogs for many different kinds of searches. The orca crew can use the whale scat to test for many things, like identifying individual whales, checking for stress, pregnancy hormones, diet, and more.

I shot photographs of the recent trip as well as footage for a short video, which is below and was edited by John Hubbell. Also, check out the article at WSJ.com. Thanks for looking.

 
Video:
 

 
 
Photos:
 

Deborah Giles, who goes by her last name “Giles,” searches for whale scat aboard a research vessel near San Juan Island, Washington on July 16, 2014. Giles works for Conservation Canines and searches with whale scat detection dog Tucker, a black lab mix, for elusive samples of whale scat for research purposes.

 

An orca whale surfaces nearby as whale scat detection dog Tucker, a black lab mix, sniffs for whale scat.

 

Elizabeth Seely holds binoculars and searches for whale scat.

 

Tucker follows a scent.

 

Liz and Giles scoop poop.

 

Whale poop can be tiny.

 

Tucker’s reward is a little bit of time with his green ball. He goes crazy for it.

 

The whales play, too.

 

Tucker takes a nap while locked back in the crate. He stays in here during any down time.

 

I’m telling you, whale poop is tiny.

 

Loading poop into plastic test tubes.

 

Liz holds a sample.

 

Into the centrifuge it goes. We’re doing science here, after all.

 

Dumping out some extra water (no pun intended).

 

A glorious sample shines in the sun.

 

Giles sports a wildly inappropriate shirt.

 

Giles and Liz catch sight of some more whale scat. Their own noses are good enough that Tucker may often stay in his crate.

 

Tucker is out this time, though.

 

The nose, at work.

 

Orca whales, presumably pooping, near a whale watching tourist boat.

 

There is the treasure.

 

A nice sample. Their notes include a list of the following description options: “snotty, wispy, mucusy/slimy, stringy, piecey.”

 

Liz passes a sample to Giles for storage in the cooler.

 

Giles, right, with Liz and Tucker on the dock.