Using puppies to shepherd birds

We've all seen border collies tirelessly running around to keep the flocks in their care safe and heading in the right direction. Normally those flocks are four-legged, with white woolly coats and a distinctly dozy look in their eyes; but the RSPB is encouraging shepherds in Bulgaria to use a different kind of sheepdog to help protect not only their livestock, but also some highly endangered birds of prey and mammals.

The Karakachan is a traditional herder in Bulgaria (Photo: S Spasov)

The wildlife charity is helping the Bulgarian shepherds to use Karakachan puppies to protect their flocks, so they have no reason to lay illegal, poisoned bait that leads to the death of many wolves, jackals and bears that sometimes prey on their livestock. Equally alarming is that endangered scavengers such as vultures and eagles are often accidental victims. Some of the victims are in dramatic decline, including the Egyptian Vulture, of which there are now just 31 pairs left in Bulgaria.

Egyptian Vulture, Kyrgyzstan (Photo: Malcolm Douglas)

The Karakachan — a large and powerful livestock-guarding dog similar to the English mastiff — was traditionally used by shepherds and graziers but had become hard to obtain, even though it provides a much better way to protect sheep and goats than poison. So providing Karakachan dogs helps shepherds to protect their flocks, the flocks of endangered birds of prey and the precious large mammals that all form part of Bulgaria's wildlife.