Meet Woody - the dog helping to save puffins

Video caption, Meet the detection dog helping to protect seabirds in Northern Ireland

Meet Woody, a dog with a very important job.

The two-year-old Fox Red Labrador is part of a special project called LIFE Raft, which aims to help protect seabirds, like puffins, from invasive predators on Rathlin, an island off the coast of Northern Ireland.

Woody works as a detection dog, which means he has been given special training to search for certain things using his powerful sense of smell.

His job is to help his handler Ulf Keller, to find and locate areas where wild rats and ferrets are by sniffing out their poop.

Why is Woody sniffing out rats and ferrets?

Image source, Getty Images

Ferrets and rats are a threat to puffins and other seabirds who live and breed on Rathlin Island every year in their thousands.

The predators eat young birds and eggs, and scare the birds away from their nesting grounds.

Conservationists were worried that if left unchecked, this could have a negative impact on the populations of the seabirds, which are already struggling to keep up with the affects of climate change.

Last year just one in three puffin chicks, or pufflings, survived, with the predators playing a role.

Ferrets were introduced to the island of Rathlin by a farmer in the 1980s as a way to help control the rabbit population 鈥 but they soon started breeding and turned their attention to the seabirds.

Since the new scheme has begun, with Woody's help, around 98 ferrets have been captured and removed, with no new confirmed sightings on the island for months.

Work has now begun to try to control the population of around 10,000 rats on Rathlin.

Speaking about Woody, his Handler Ulf said he 鈥渋s a big goof鈥.

鈥淗e works for us as a detection dog. When he works he鈥檚 really focused and works really well but when he鈥檚 off work he鈥檚 a two-year-old Labrador, full of beans, jumping around,鈥 he said

Woody wears special goggles to protect his eyes from spiky bushes like brambles and thistles.

鈥淗e鈥檚 treated like any other member of staff with his PPE and breaks鈥 Ulf said.

鈥淗e enjoys working, I enjoy working with him. I enjoy the island. I couldn鈥檛 have it any better, if I鈥檓 honest, and I think he likes it, too,鈥 he added.

After the project ends in 2026, it is hoped Woody will continue to stick around to help prevent any non-native species returning to the island.