Animal Eco-Warriors

“Magnificent: fascinating and with deep accuracy and originality rarely found in non-fiction for young people....This will be irresistible for anyone who loves animals or the intricate interrelations between humans and the natural world.”

Jackie French

Introduction

Section 1: Alert but not alarmed – Border patrol and sentinel animals, working to keep out pests and diseases
1. Noses on legs – On the beat with the cheeky quarantine beagles of Hobart Airport
2. The ants go marching – Welsh spaniel Rhys Jones sniffs out Argentine ants in New Zealand’s Treasured Islands
3. Eternally vigilant – Tama the terrier works to keep Antarctica and its islands rodent free

Section 2: Trackers and scouts – animals who sniff out trouble
4. Three noses are better than one – the detection dog team working to track down foxes on Phillip Island
5. Cat dog! Clay the terrier and the invisible cat of Tasman Island
6. Botanist puppies of the Mount Kosciusko National Park – going where no Australian detection dog has gone before!
7. Blossom: hero-rat – healing landscapes scarred by landmines

Section 3: Eating the enemy – animals who make a meal out of environmental problems
8. When greed is good – Eco Goats use their super-stomachs to make a meal of environmental weeds
9. An acquired taste – how understanding cow cultures can help protect rangeland ecosystems
10. Putting back the pieces – in welcoming sugar gliders back to the land, a Bega farmer is also protecting his trees and pastures
11. Micro-wasps vs. yellow crazy ants – can these tiny insects save an entire island ecosystem from collapse?

Section 4: To serve and protect – animal eco-warriors standing up for native animals and ecosystems
12. Maya, koala habitat detection dog – proving the science of detection dog work, one poo at a time!
13. Rein – threatened species detection dog, and the rarest kiwis of them all
14. Guardian dogs to the rescue! – How some big fluffy white dogs are saving the small fluffy penguins of Middle Island

Section 5: Researchers, educators, diplomats and activists – animals working to inform and inspire humanity in the quest to save our shared environments
15. Beneath the ice – Elephant seals go deep to help scientists track our changing climate
16. The Internet of Stings – An international network of cyborg bees, helping scientists decode environmental change
17. Sirocco the Kakapo, V.I.P. – Very Important Parrot, social media superstar and ambassador for his species

Glossary

Nicole Gill

Nicole Gill is a Tasmanian author, environmental writer and conservation dog handler. Her dog, Zorro, is a Tasmanian masked owl vomit detection dog, and is also an avid consumer of books, albeit in a more literal sense than Nic would like.