In Chile, border collies are sowing seeds, bringing life back to forests (2017) | Hacker News Reader

In Chile, border collies are sowing seeds, bringing life back to forests (2017)

ibtimes.co.uk

95 pointsTomte25 comments

> "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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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

> 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 ?

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.

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. :]

Why the tail?

> (I am a bit suspicious of that number seeing how the masters seem to always be nearby the dogs on the photos).

If they were far, it'd be hard to take their photo in a dense forest, no?

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

You'd need a dozen batteries to fly for a few hours, plus open areas to start/finish each flight, someone who knows how to operate one safely, etc.

> Why the tail?

It's from the adage: when a man walks one mile, his dog runs three miles around him and the tail traveled nine miles around them.

Range is indeed a bit ambiguous. 'Total distance covered' might be more accurate.

Border Collies can be easily taught to make broad sweeps left/right and circle back, so it's really the area around the trajectory of their master that gets covered.

Border Collies loop out and back naturally and would seem to be part of their herding instinct - you don't need to train them to do it at all. They also tend to range a fair way from their owner if not kept in check. Especially if they have a friend to chase or follow around like these do.

You need the shortcoat type for this as our one would finish the day with all the seed stuck in his own fur.

If they're anything like the border collies I know, the handlers can hike through the area at a leisurely pace while the dogs tirelessly run around, covering the area around the handlers. Maybe they trained them to be somewhat systematic.

Small drones have a pathetic battery runtime compared to a dog. Big drones aka planes are very expensive to run.

I’ve met people on long distance hikes who could do 30km a day. 3km per day seems very little.

3km does seem a bit low. But the dogs are covering very rugged terrain, not walking down a hiking trail.

A person can only do 3km per day? Im about to walk to work..5km.

I guess they meant 3km through uneven ground in a forest.

Definitely this, 3km across rugged terrain is nothing like 3km on a sidewalk.

I'm pretty sure tree planters, a common forest job, cover more than 3km in a shift.

Do they work for kibble?

It's usually piece work at pennies a tree.

That’s rough... I think I’d actually prefer kibble!

> 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?

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