Teaching a talented dog newt tricks

Get the free Morning Headlines email for news from our reporters across the world Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Springer spaniel Freya, owned and trained by Wessex Water ecologist Nikki Glover, first made headlines in 2018 when her skills were deployed to sniff out great crested newts before work started on water and sewerage schemes. As well as the conservation benefits, Freya and Newky are minimising costly delays to building projects by spotting the protected species much quicker than humans using traditional trapping methods. Ms Glover said: “The dogs have massively reduced the amount of time and tools required to relocate newts – we haven’t used a pitfall trap on a Wessex Water scheme since 2021, so we’re saving on plastic and other materials as well. She said: “Since utilising dogs to detect great crested newts in the wild, I have learnt an incredible amount about their terrestrial ecology which will hopefully shape habitat management practices and mitigation measures.”