Pet Dog's Sixth Sense Spots Crocodile
Kimberley (Australia):
Do dogs have a sixth sense for danger?
A family who survived a crocodile attack in the Kimberley are puzzled over the behaviour of their pet dog.
10 year old Chantal had jumped into the water with her father and brother at Doubtful Bay, north east of Derby, and seconds later she was grabbed by a crocodile.
The pet dog had refused to jump in with them despite their encouragement.
The Busselton family was on a boating holiday along the Kimberley coast.
The girl was dragged under water and quickly rescued by her father Rick and 14 year old brother Simon, who struck the reptile with his fist.
She suffered deep cuts and lacerations and spent the week recovering in Derby hospital.
As Chantal's Mother Gabrielle explains in the audio, she wonders if the dog knew something was amiss.
Animal behaviourist Dr Paul McGreevy, from Sydney University, says there's a lot that us humans don't know about man's best friend.
Dr McGreevy says a dog's ability to sense danger can't be fully explained but some dogs are trained to detect earthquakes, other's cancer.
Certainly their sense of smell is far superior to anything our "Shnoss" has.
However he says it's highly unlikely the pet dog smelt the crocodile, because it was under the water.
Oct. 10, 2005
Vanessa Mills, ABC Regional Online, Australia
Kimberley (Australia):
Do dogs have a sixth sense for danger?
A family who survived a crocodile attack in the Kimberley are puzzled over the behaviour of their pet dog.
10 year old Chantal had jumped into the water with her father and brother at Doubtful Bay, north east of Derby, and seconds later she was grabbed by a crocodile.
The pet dog had refused to jump in with them despite their encouragement.
The Busselton family was on a boating holiday along the Kimberley coast.
The girl was dragged under water and quickly rescued by her father Rick and 14 year old brother Simon, who struck the reptile with his fist.
She suffered deep cuts and lacerations and spent the week recovering in Derby hospital.
As Chantal's Mother Gabrielle explains in the audio, she wonders if the dog knew something was amiss.
Animal behaviourist Dr Paul McGreevy, from Sydney University, says there's a lot that us humans don't know about man's best friend.
Dr McGreevy says a dog's ability to sense danger can't be fully explained but some dogs are trained to detect earthquakes, other's cancer.
Certainly their sense of smell is far superior to anything our "Shnoss" has.
However he says it's highly unlikely the pet dog smelt the crocodile, because it was under the water.
Oct. 10, 2005
Vanessa Mills, ABC Regional Online, Australia
