Rachel Cripps
Bat (Carcasses)
I have been working in the conservation sector in the UK for over 10 years after completing my BSc in Zoology and MSc in Ecology. It was while working for a local Wildlife Trust managing the Red Squirrel conservation project there that I discovered the field of conservation detection dogs. I began my training as a conservation detection dog handler with Kryus Ltd in 2018 and still work closely with them today. As well as training my own 2 dogs I also assist with training dogs and handlers for other projects.
Max is a 6 year old Belgian Malinois cross breed and very experienced detection dog. He started his career in conservation in 2018 on a red squirrel project at a local wildlife conservation charity, detecting sick and dead red squirrels during outbreaks of the fatal squirrel pox disease. In 2021, Max expanded into bat carcass surveys at wind farms and we are looking forward to working on further projects in 2022.
Reid is a 3 year old English Springer Spaniel and has spent 2021 detecting bat carcasses at wind turbine sites during his first operational season. We have new odours planned for 2022!