Posted on 02/09/2018 10:27:55 PM PST by nickcarraway
A rookie golden labrador on his first ever mission has won praise for helping Taiwanese search and rescue workers find two people trapped in a severely damaged building following a deadly earthquake.
Four-year-old Tie Hsiung, whose name translates to "Iron Hero", braved dangerous aftershocks on his first field test to search for survivors after a 6.4-magnitude quake struck the popular eastern tourist city of Hualien on Tuesday, killing 10 people.
Thanks to the determined dog, one person trapped for 15 hours was finally located relatively unscathed and pulled from the wreckage of the precariously leaning Marshal Hotel. "The terrain was quite dangerous with glass and nails," 28-year-old trainer Li Chun-sheng told AFP, beaming with pride.
(Excerpt) Read more at straitstimes.com ...
Nice, heartwarming story. Cannot even imagine being in a building and having it suddenly collapse from a quake. One reason (among many) I left CA many years ago.
I read they have 100,000 times our smell capabilities, some breeds.
Cats have 5,000.
Incredible.
And then they had the Dog for Dinner. The End.
Hung how nega go! Very good on that dog!
That region is a VERY active quake area. The train track in that area is constantly slowly moving and has to be redone every--whatever it is--few months?
It is also near where a lot of beautiful marble is quarried.
The huge machine slowly slicing enormous 'boulders' into slabs is fascinating. It has big iron bars reaching across the whole of the big stone. The stone is about the size of a smallish camp trailer--maybe 12-16' around. The bars are rocked back and forth across the stone and slowly lowered as they cut through. Water drips on the process. Maybe sand, drips too.
Taruko Gorge is nearby and a beautiful excursion. The Japanese during WW2 cut a roadway up the marble lined canyon--sometimes through tunnels on the side of the canyon.
In fact, the turkey vulture has one of the best senses of smell in the animal kingdom. They can find hidden carcasses by detecting the methane gas that’s a product of decomposition — and this turns out to be one way they benefit humans: “They’ve used turkey vultures to detect leaks in cross-country gas lines because they’ll circle above them,” Dishaw says.-—http://www.vetstreet.com/our-pet-experts/10-fascinating-facts-about-vultures
She isn’t kidding, either... here in FL they can actually detect farts, but it frustrates them, because they are looking for something to eat and there’s nothing to be had but still lively grinning old men drinking beer by the driveway... A funny way to bring them in close, though.
Evidently Taipei 101 also has a huge heavy ball at the top acting as an active damper on quake forces shaking the building back and forth.
Not used as much for quakes, it is mainly used for the wind - especially in typhoon season.
Ahhh. Thanks. Are you there?
I live about 20 miles south of Taipei.
Taoyuan? Qx doesn’t quite remember those distances. He sure misses the places and the foods—particularly the fruit—also Mongollian Bar-B-Q.
About halfway between Taoyuan and Taipei.
Ahhh. Thanks. Doesn’t the MRT go all the way to Taoyuan, now?
Is it automatic mechanical or computer controlled?
It is automatic mechanical. It is basically a huge ball sitting on hydraulics. If the building leans one way, it goes the opposite.
The MRT goes out to the airport now - formally Chiang Kai Shek international, now called Taoyuan international.
Interesting. Thanks.
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