How animals use their skills for work
by Natasha Christou Digital Marketing ConsultantIf you adore animals or not, there’s no refuting
that their skills are vital in so many walks of life. Whether it’s dogs helping
the blind, horses aiding our police force or rats finding land mines, some jobs
are just so much more fitted to animals than their human compatriots.
Here, with Cliverton, who offers dog groomers
insurance, we look at how these smart animals skills are put to work and
exactly how it helps the world’s population:
Dolphin detection
The military make use of the intelligence
of dolphins to help them perform underwater tasks. Their advanced sonar-like
system allows a dolphin to easily detect any mines and intruders in murky and
deep waters. The US military also uses
their incredible vision on offer by sea lions to complete similar tasks.
Rat reliance
This rodent is known for its powerful sense
of smell – so much so the African giant pouched rats can sniff out deadly land
mines but are too light to make them blow up. This allows us to locate these
devices and dispose of them before they have a catastrophic impact. It’s said
to take approximately nine months to train a rat in this way and are given
treats such as bananas for a job well done.
Dogs on the job
Mans best friend may be the most common
working animal. Their skills are seemingly endless and have been put to the test
in many forms over the years, including guide dogs. This helps blind people
greatly, enabling them to carry on with their day-to-day life as normal as
possible.
Then there are the dogs who help our
forces. The police have their very own K-9 unit which is made up of highly
skilled and trained dogs. Their main duties include general purpose – helping
officers on the beat, firearms support, searching, tracking, criminal work,
sporting events, narcotics and explosives detection, scanning people for narcotics
and weapon detection. General purpose dogs are often German Shepherds, Belgian
Malinois and Dutch Herders due to their stature and all police dogs are
specifically trained to be extremely obedient.
The Armed Forces also have a dog force,
with springer spaniels used as arms and explosive search dogs. Recently,
Buster, the pooch said to have completed more tours than any other military dog
and saved thousands of lives with the RAF by sniffing out bombs and booby traps,
sadly passed away.
Then there’s sheepdogs. This breed, when taught correctly, can save a
shepherd or farmer a lot of time and effort by gathering, handling and driving
sheep to the location you want them – doing so without disturbing the flock or
putting them under stress. They do this by gathering the sheep in a pear-shaped
outrun.
Horse power
Similar to canines, the police use horses
as a ‘presence’ and deterrent. They are normally found helping crowd control at
large events and demonstrations and add height and visibility to the officers. During
their training, they are deployed to numerous scary situations and sounds
during ‘nuisance’ training. This enables the force to be confident they won’t
be phased during any altercation.
Of course, horses are also often used as a
mode of transport. On the Gili Islands in Indonesia for example, horse, foot
and pedal power are your only options to get around the island – there are no
cars or motorbikes!
Chief mouser
Even the UK’s Prime Minister has a working
pet. The Royal Family may be home of the corgis, but 10 Downing Street welcomes
a cat through its doors. However, it’s not simply for a companion if the going
gets tough, Britain’s leader welcomes a feline and appoints it ‘chief mouser’
and it is tasked with protecting the building from mice and other rodents! This
role dates back to the 1500s during the reign of Henry VIII.
Bee safe
Yes, our fuzzy little
friends can offer more to us than the glorious thing we call honey. It turns
out that they can detect certain chemicals and make a certain buzzing sound to
indicate what chemical has been released into the air. This has helped us
detect chemicals in our environment and has even be considered as a useful tool
if ever there were chemical warfare attacks!
Of course, the list
could be endless. Every animal has their uses – remember carrier pigeons? It’s clear
to see that animals have so much to offer and humans should be grateful that we
grace this earth with such skilful creatures.
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Created on Feb 4th 2020 03:12. Viewed 210 times.