
In Chile, border collies are sowing seeds, bringing life back to forests (2017) - Tomte
http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/chile-three-border-collies-are-planting-seeds-bringing-life-back-forests-destroyed-by-fire-1628737
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bloopernova
> "Border collies Summer, Olivia and Das spend their days bounding through
> charred forests, unaware they're leaving a trail of seeds that could
> transform the landscape."

Border Collies are whip smart. They may not understand what the seeds are for,
but they certainly understand that they are spreading those "little things".
They also understand that they are Doing An Important Job, which is /raison
d'etre/ for a Border Collie.

Looking through the pictures in the article, I see what in my opinion are
happy relaxed dogs. Which if you've ever spent time around a bored or poorly
trained Border Collie, you'll know is pretty much impossible. For those of you
who haven't spent much time around these dogs, they get very anxious and
neurotic if they don't have a job to do. Whether it's herding sheep or
spreading tree seeds, Border Collies _must_ have a complex demanding task to
perform every day.

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itgoon
People posting alternative solutions probably haven't watched a dog run
through a forest. One of my favorite parts of camping is taking a short hike,
while the dogs take a long run all around me (BC and a Britney).

Dogs will run through gaps drones couldn't dream of, and go through underbrush
where a drone simply couldn't go. They can carry a much larger payload,
longer. The distribution pattern will probably be more random, which is
appropriate for a natural environment.

Versus human power? I know some people who could probably knock out 30km in a
day, over very rough terrain, at altitude. Only one or two, though. I doubt
they could do it every day, or even a few times a week.

It would be hard to scale, though. While I think I might enjoy attempting to
teach hundreds of BCs to go on a hike with me, I'm not sure it's practical.

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Tempest1981
Can border collies deliver packages too?

I can see a battle for jobs developing, between border collies and drones.
Just as the fledgling drone industry was starting to take off.

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partycoder
I think people could trick them with food and steal the packages.

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mmariani
Those same people could shoot down drones to steal the packages. When you have
humans in the equation things tend to get messy, it’s just a matter of time.

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WheelsAtLarge
Love this. This is a perfect win, win situation. Dogs are the best. We talk
about robots, drones, and AI but sometimes the best answer is right in front
of us in the natural world.

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partycoder
Dogs are an invasive species in those territories, attacking native wild life
like deer, cats, etc.

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johnchristopher
> They are certainly better than humans, she said, as the dogs can cover a
> range of 30 kilometres in a day, whereas a person could only do three
> kilometres.

What ? Then why not put the seeds on the dog's tail ? (I am a bit suspicious
of that number seeing how the masters seem to always be nearby the dogs on the
photos).

Couldn't a low altitude drone be even more efficient ?

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EliRivers
_I am a bit suspicious of that number seeing how the masters seem to always be
nearby the dogs on the photos_

I suspect a strong correlation between being able to take a photo of the dog
and being near the dog.

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johnchristopher
Haha, yeah :). Too bad we aren't in the future and there's no go pro to
install in the dog's skull or some interactive kind of storytelling to show
da-da-data in its context. :]

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stevage
> whereas a person could only do three kilometres.

I really wonder what they're referring to here. Obviously a trail runner can
cover far more than that distance, even wearing the same kind of seed-
scattering harness.

Are they comparing the distance someone could cover planting seeds by hand?

