Florida Dog

[Baitball Blogger]

Search dog kills endangered sparrow

An affectionate Labrador named Lily was being trained to help rescue North America's rarest bird, the Florida grasshopper sparrow.

But something went terribly wrong.

Lily killed one of the endangered sparrows. The young, nearly flightless bird was a collateral casualty in an escalating but possibly losing battle to find out why the Central Florida songbird is being driven mysteriously to vanish forever.

During training, Lily repeatedly picked up the scent of related, but not endangered, sparrows and followed it to their hidden nests, where she would sit sniffing calmly at eggs or chicks.

Federal officials are willing to give Lily another chance at finding the birds at the Three Lakes Wildlife Management Area in south Osceola. Her sense of smell and search instincts may be some of the best tools for thwarting an extinction that some think could happen in a couple of years.

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/os-search-dog-kills-endangered-sparrow-20130730,0,7896656.story

[RebelOne]

1. I think she should be retired from that job. n/t

[Baitball Blogger]

2. Absolutely.

There is a pattern in Florida that rewards utter and unadulterated failure. The worse you are at your job, the more people step up to protect you, assuming you're screwing over the "right" people.

[Shrike47]

3. No doubt owned and/or trained by Florida Man.

[Baitball Blogger]

4. LOL!