Border Collie Herds Birds Out Of Plane's Way FORT MYERS, Fla. (Reuters) - The newest employee at Southwest Florida International Airport works like a dog and his job is literally for the birds.
Jet is a 2-year-old border collie trained to chase birds away from airplane flight paths. The black and white male collie went to work in February and is believed to be the first dog in the nation used for runway bird herding, airport spokeswoman Susan Sanders said Wednesday.
``It looks like it's working well. We haven't had one reported strike,'' Sanders said.
Bird strikes are a common problem at airports in Florida, which ranks third behind California and Texas in the number of strikes, airport officials said. Nationally, birds collide with 2,500 planes a year and have caused $48 million in aircraft damage since 1991. Since most bird strikes occur on approach, landing, take-off or the initial climb to altitude, prevention efforts focus on the airports rather than the skies.
Jet was trained by Border Collie Rescue, a Florida nonprofit group that takes in unwanted border collies and trains them for new uses. Trainer Nick Carter had put other border collies to work herding messy Canadian geese off of golf courses. He figured the breed's inherent tendency to herd, but not harm or kill, would make them a natural for airport duty.
Border collies are highly intelligent and can herd birds in specific directions rather than just scattering them. Because Jet doesn't bark and runs at speeds of up to 30 mph (48 kph), he is perceived as a stealth predator by the birds. Airport officials believe that will keep the birds from becoming desensitized to him as they have to other deterrents such as noise and pyrotechnics.
Jet lives in the airport kennel with other working dogs who sniff for explosives and illegal drugs. His work record has been spotless, with one minor glitch.
The airport is in a wetland area where the dog encountered alligators for the first time, and had to be sent back to his trainer for a week of alligator sensitivity instruction.
``He didn't know what an alligator was and wasn't necessarily afraid of them,'' Sanders said. ``He was trying to herd them.''
JET THE BORDER COLLIE INVITES BIRDS TO LEAVE AIRPORT FORT MYERS, Fla. (May 19, 1999) – The newest employee at Southwest Florida International Airport works like a dog. In fact, Jet is a dog, a two-year-old border collie specifically trained to chase birds from aircraft flight paths. Jet was acquired, as part of the airport’s ongoing wildlife management effort, from Border Collie Rescue (BCR), a national non-profit organization based in Melrose, Fla. The 35-pound, black and white bundle of energy may be the first dog in the country used in a bird hazard reduction program at a commercial airport.
Bird strikes are a common problem at airports across the nation. Florida ranks third, behind California and Texas, in the number of strikes. Birds collide with close to 2,500 planes a year in the United States and have caused at least $48 million in aircraft damage since 1991. Since 85 percent of these reported strikes occurred on approach, landing, take-off or the initial climb to altitude, wildlife and habitat management are essential functions of airport management.
At Southwest Florida International Airport, Jet’s job is to convince birds that the airport is no longer a pleasant place to live or visit. Extensive training, enhanced by the breed’s inherent tendency to herd, but not to harm or kill, makes Jet a natural for his new job. Border collies are highly intelligent, adaptable and intense. They work tirelessly and persistently, and can be precisely guided to herd birds in specific directions, rather than just scattering them.
Jet is trained to respond to a herding whistle and verbal commands, and patrols with the airport’s operations agents. Because he doesn’t bark and runs at speeds of up to 30 miles per hour, Jet is perceived as a stealth predator by the birds. Consequently, they should not become desensitized to him as they have to other methods of bird harassment, such as noise and pyrotechnics.
According to BCR, a single border collie and handler can easily maintain a 2-square-mile area. Southwest Florida International Airport sits on a 5.5-square-mile site, but Jet works to clear only those parts of the air operations area where birds pose a threat to aircraft safety. BCR reports that border collies are the fastest-growing and most popular form of bird control on golf courses and other venues across the country.
The Federal Aviation Administration ranks Southwest Florida International Airport as the eighth fastest-growing airport in the nation and projects a 96 percent increase in passengers from 1995 to the year 2010. The airport opened in 1983 and has served more than four million passengers annually since 1994. It is located in the vacation destination region that includes Sanibel and Captiva Islands, Fort Myers, Fort Myers Beach, Naples, Punta Gorda and Marco Island along the Gulf of Mexico on Florida’s southwest coast.
 NetPets Main Page |
contact information |  The Dog Center |