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Join today<\/a><\/p>\n \n Already a member? A dog from the Scottish Highlands<\/a> that hunts an invasive marine creature known as \u201csea vomit\u201d<\/a> has been named Animal of the Year by an international charity. <\/p>\n Sgiath, a black Labrador, has been trained to detect carpet sea squirt, which can smother and kill native species if left uncontrolled. <\/p>\n The six-year-old had originally been trained as a mountain rescue dog and is the first in the world to be trained to recognise the marine organism. <\/p>\n Her handler, marine ecologist Dr Texa Sim, began training Sgiath to detect Didemnum vexillum, which can spread rapidly across harbours, oyster farms and other marine infrastructure. <\/p>\n While identification of the species often requires specialist laboratory analysis and DNA testing, Sgiath can detect its scent quickly, even when it is hidden among other marine life. <\/p>\n \u201cWhen I first started this project, I genuinely didn\u2019t know whether it would work,\u201d said Dr Sim.<\/p>\n \u201cNo one had really explored whether dogs could help tackle this problem in the marine environment. It began as a proof-of-concept project and has exceeded every expectation I had.\u201d<\/p>\n Dr Sim, originally from Glasgow and now based near Glencoe, developed the idea while working on a native oyster restoration project on Scotland\u2019<\/a>s west coast. <\/p>\n As a marine ecologist, she had become increasingly aware of the threat posed by invasive marine species and wondered whether a dog\u2019s super sense of smell could help provide a rapid, cost-effective detection tool. <\/p>\n \u201cThe first time I asked her to identify the target species among lots of similar scents, she went straight to it,\u201d she recalled. \u201cThat was the moment I thought: maybe this is actually going to work.\u201d <\/p>\n As a result, Sgiath was awarded a prestigious prize by the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) and received the honour at a ceremony in London<\/a> on Thursday.<\/p>\n \u201cThe dogs constantly surprise me,\u201d said Dr Sim. \u201cEvery time I think I\u2019ve found the limit of what they\u2019re capable of, they show me I was wrong. Their ability to detect incredibly low concentrations of scent is just phenomenal.\u201d<\/p>\n The work could prove increasingly important as climate change drives warming seas, creating conditions that may allow invasive marine species to spread more rapidly around UK coastlines. <\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re not going to solve the problem entirely with dogs,\u201d said Dr Sim. \u201cBut they give us another tool. If we can identify the species earlier and more efficiently, it gives conservationists and site managers a much better chance of responding before the problem gets out of hand.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Six-year-old Sgiath is trained to look for the invasive sea creature (IFAW)<\/p>\n![\"Sgiath](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/WhatsApp-Image-2026-04-17-at-16-24-47.jpeg\")
Sgiath can recognise the scent of the sea vomit creatures among other marine life (IFAW)<\/p>\n