Black Labrador Wins IFAW Animal of the Year for Sniffing Out Sea Vomit

A Black Labrador named Sgiath has been named Animal of the Year for helping protect marine wildlife by sniffing out an invasive creature known as “sea vomit.” The six-year-old dog from the Scottish Highlands has an extraordinary talent that could change how conservationists detect harmful species hiding along coastlines and in harbors. Working alongside her human, marine ecologist Dr. Texa Sim, Sgiath uses her powerful nose to locate carpet sea squirt, an invasive organism that can spread rapidly and threaten native marine life. Her remarkable work earned her international recognition at the International Fund for Animal Welfare’s Animal Action Awards in London on October 15, 2026. Credit: X From Mountain Rescue Training to Marine Conservation Before becoming a marine conservation dog, Sgiath trained for mountain rescue searches. Her background gave her valuable scent-detection experience, but her next assignment would be quite different from searching for people in the mountains. Sim recognized that dogs trained to locate scents could potentially help scientists detect invasive marine organisms. Detection dogs already assist conservation efforts on land, but using their noses to i...