I was lucky to be in the right place at the right time as the 2 Mareema dogs were swam across to the island. I know they don't stand out too well but I had wanted to take the pink pig face on the island for awhile (specially for thinkpink2014 tag) but the sun hasn't been out for them to come out! Today the sun was out but of course the pig face is past its glory! So after going for a coffee and driving back past I spotted the handler walking/swimming the dogs across. Quick stop and took photos trying to capture the pig face with an interest of the dogs! For those who don't know, the Mareema dogs are placed on the island to protect the little penguins that nest there from foxes and other dogs. When the dogs are there, people are not allowed to cross over. (You can walk across at low tide) I was privileged 10 years ago to actually sleep on the island with the penguins! Now that's another whole different story!! Sorry to ramble on but this is one of my favourite places and of course I love penguins and have a little collection of them too :)
So cool to see something of these dogs... We had a Mareema Sheep dog .. Westie was such a cool dog always had a smile on his face... and real gentle giant..
have you been drinking Denise, I can't find any pink pig face anywhere. Spotted the dogs, they do blend in well, but don't they eat penguins then. Lovely capture and you can ramble on as much as you want.
@shepherdman So pleased you liked the story too :) @julzmaioro How lucky you were to own a dog - they are so beautiful :) @jaynspain The penguins are being protected as about 6 years ago they were virtually all killed by predators. @gigiflower The pink is no where near as stunning as it should be - oh well, next year :) @hermann Thanks. It's a great success story for the penguins. And I will get my penguins out soon :) @junep Love your story June! I would have been like your cousin too :) @janiskay@bella_ss Thanks for reading the story too :) @francoise It's probably not exotic here, but we do have some amazing places around this coastline :) @cejaanderson@milaniet Thanks for taking time to read and comment on this. It is a terrific success story for the dear little penguins! @ladymagpie Just been drinking pink champagne!! These dogs are used as protectors of hens, so they were then trained to protect the penguins, and it worked! Thanks for letting me ramble on :) @rosiekind Yes I will get my penguins out soon - but hopefully will get a shot of a real one soon! (or dig into my archives where I have some!) @pyrrhula Yes it is a beautiful little island. Thanks :)
This is such an interesting story. I love learning about these dogs and how they protect the penguins. We take dogs so much for granted, but they can teach us so much about how to live and take care of the world. Such good creatures. The pink in the picture is very nice. I would love to see it at its peak.
As others have said, you've shared such interesting facts here. I had no idea dogs were employed to help protect penguins during their nesting time. What a lovely place the penguins chose to start a family. Imagine your experience of camping with the little creatures was incredibly memorable.
I am learning so much from you (and google) this evening. I'd never heard of pink pigfaces before and I always thought of penguins as being in Antarctica plus had not heard of Maremma dogs either. Took me a moment to see the dogs because I was so enjoying looking at the gorgeous pink ground cover.
November 3rd, 2014
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@julzmaioro How lucky you were to own a dog - they are so beautiful :)
@jaynspain The penguins are being protected as about 6 years ago they were virtually all killed by predators.
@gigiflower The pink is no where near as stunning as it should be - oh well, next year :)
@hermann Thanks. It's a great success story for the penguins. And I will get my penguins out soon :)
@junep Love your story June! I would have been like your cousin too :)
@janiskay @bella_ss Thanks for reading the story too :)
@francoise It's probably not exotic here, but we do have some amazing places around this coastline :)
@cejaanderson @milaniet Thanks for taking time to read and comment on this. It is a terrific success story for the dear little penguins!
@ladymagpie Just been drinking pink champagne!! These dogs are used as protectors of hens, so they were then trained to protect the penguins, and it worked! Thanks for letting me ramble on :)
@rosiekind Yes I will get my penguins out soon - but hopefully will get a shot of a real one soon! (or dig into my archives where I have some!)
@pyrrhula Yes it is a beautiful little island. Thanks :)