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Doggone
Birds!
Meet Jet Ft. Myers Top Bird Dog |
This Feature Written By A.G. Dunham Dateline: 05/19/99
The newest employee
at Ft. Myers' Southwest Florida International Airport
works like a dog. If you are going to work like a dog you might as well act like
one, meet Jet, a two-year-old border collie specifically trained to chase birds from
aircraft flight paths. Jet's job is to convince birds that Southwest Florida
International Airport is no longer a pleasant place to live or visit while he's there.
Make no bones about it chasing birds off the runway is serious business.
Nationwide, there are approximately
2,500 birdstrikes a year with aircraft causing an estimated $48 million in aircraft damage
since 1991. Since 85 percent of strikes occur on approach, landing, take-off or the
initial climb to altitude, wildlife management at airports is essential.
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Bird strikes are a
common problem at airports across the nation. Florida ranks third, behind California and
Texas, in the number of strikes. Nationwide, there are approximately 2,500
birdstrikes a year with aircraft causing an estimated $48 million in aircraft damage since
1991. Since 85 percent of strikes occur on approach, landing, take-off or the
initial climb to altitude, wildlife management at airports is essential.
Jet is the first dog in the country used in a bird hazard reduction program at a
commercial airport. He is a 35-pound dynamo that was acquired from Border Collie Rescue (BCR), the Florida-based
non-profit organization that trained him. Extensive training, enhanced by the
breed's inherent tendency to herd, but not 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. The airport is
also relying upon other methods such as noise and pyrotechnics so the birds will not
become desensitized to Jet's presence. According to Border Collie Rescue, 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. Give
that dog a bone!
Related Articles:
Fowl Play On The
Runway From Air Travel on About.com
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