Wild animals that could track a person by scent?

[endgirl]

Hey there! Does anyone know of any wild animals (especially the type that might be found in a zoo) who would be able to sniff something that belonged to a person and then track them by scent, like a bloodhound? I know almost no wild animals would do this by choice, but the willingness of the animal to do it is not as important as the physical/

Comments

[poniesandphotos]

My first thought was the African Wild Pouched Rat that is used for sniffing bombs. Their noses are supposedly somewhat similar to dogs in power, can be trained, and are much smaller/ less dangerous than a bear. I'm not sure how well they can follow a trail, though. You can read about the project here http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/headlines/2010/03/bombsniffing-rats-save-lives-in-africa/

Other members of the canine family also hunt by smell. A fox, for example, is smaller and more manageable than a wolf.

[likantropos]

The problem with the fox would be difficulties with communication. We still don't know what it says.

[lindenfoxcub]

There's speculation that they can communicate by morse.

[endgirl]

I spewed a little bit of my drink when I read the email notification for this.

[tarvae]

Well, these little critters came immediately to mind http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/APOPO (mine detection rats)

Beyond that I'd be thinking something like one of the small to medium sized cats like a Caracal or maybe a red panda (all teh cute in thw world there!) or possibly an otter, ferret or another mustilid?

[enveri]

I was coming here to make the same comment about red pandas. ;D

[endgirl]

Hah, that is depressing (but not surprising) about red pandas. They would have made for quite the image in my story.

[likantropos]

I'm no specialst, but afaik:
While lots of animals do have a better sense of smell than dogs, only canines are "built" for tracking (they have a neck, that allows them to keep their head down for a long time, for example). With a bit of trainig, anything's possible, though. Pigs should do, btw, they are smart and have great sense of smell.

[beccastareyes]

And, IIRC, pigs were 'trained' to find truffles. (Most of the training was so that humans could keep up with them and so the pigs wouldn't eat what they found that often.)

[endgirl]

That's something I'd run into a few times as well -- I found a couple of snakes with excellent senses of smell, but I think that would require just a touch more suspension of disbelief than I suspect I can count on, haha. Some sort of canine may end up being the way to go. The one saving grace is that I don't need the animal to track a person a long ways -- half a mile or a mile at most.

Thank you!!

[cat_mcdougall]

Jackals, Hyenas and African wild dogs are all "canines" but "more exciting than dogs". The other thing you might look into is buzzards/vultures. They track by scent, if I remember correctly.

[okojosan]

Hyenas aren't canines, they're hyenas. They do probably have a very good sense of smell, though.

[endgirl]

Thanks, I'll look into those! But NO thanks for that image of being tracked by vultures who can smell me... I double I will be sleeping tonight :P

[anonymous]

Aren't there venomous snakes that will bite their prey and then let it go, tracking it until it's safely dead? One of those might work.

[badgermirlacca]

The Komodo dragon does this. They're not venomous, strictly speaking, but their saliva is so full of evil bacteria that when they bite, you're doomed. And they track the dying prey by smell.

[haldane]

I suspect Komodo dragons might come under the "too big/dangerous" category. :D But they're certainly more exotic than beagles.

[endgirl]

Haha, they certainly are more exciting. There is something to be said for walking a giant lizard on a leash, though, so I may have to look into it.

Thanks to you both!! :)