Dogs protecting penguins from foxes.

On Middle Island, in Australia:

Maremma dogs are self-reliant; they can be left to defend a patch of land for long periods of time with a supply of food and water that they know not to wolf down right away. During the summer, when foxes pose the greatest danger to Middle Island’s penguins because of tidal patterns that form sandbars, the dogs can stay on the island for several days in a row, watching over the birds from a raised walkway.

Training them for the job involves introducing them to the penguin’s distinct odor. “Penguins don’t smell particularly nice,” said Peter Abbott, manager of tourism services for the Warrnambool City Council. “They look cute and cuddly, but they smell like dead fish.” Gradually, the dogs are taught to treat the penguins like any other kind of livestock, to be defended and not harmed....

"Wild animals have been able to coexist peacefully with students and faculty before, as evidenced by the fox family that moved in two years ago."

"Pidgeon said she hopes the same scenario can play out with the new turkeys."

Pidgeon = UW-Madison avian expert Anna Pidgeon.

She [said] the UW-Madison campus has aspects of an ideal turkey habitat as well. Urban areas with green space offer all the protection turkeys need, since natural predators are not as prevalent and trees provide a place to roost at night.