By Bill Galluccio
Dec 17, 2020
Wildlife officials in Florida have been training two dogs to help them track down invasive Burmese pythons. For the past month, Truman, a black Labrador retriever, and a point setter named Eleanor have been working with handlers to learn how to identify the scent of the invasive snakes and what to do when they find them.
"Python-scented towels and live pythons with surgically implanted trackers were used to train the dogs on python scent," the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission explained.
When one of the dogs identifies a python, they are trained to stay at least three feet away and alert their handler. Once the snake has been located, a biologist will safely capture and remove the snake from the area.