コンテナに４０日間…大西洋横断生き抜いた犬、パナマで探知犬に

【パナマ市ＡＦＰ＝時事】スペインから中米パナマに到着した空のはずの輸送コンテナを開けて、港湾労働者は驚いた──。（写真はパナマのトクメン国際空港で探知犬として訓練を受ける「ミリ」）
　中には１匹の犬がいた。アンダルシア州から４０日間、コンテナに閉じ込められたまま生きて大西洋を横断してきたのだ。
　やせ細ったキャラメル色の犬は１歳程度とみられ、脱水症状を起こし、全身あざだらけだった。
　その後数か月にわたるリハビリと訓練を受け、今はパナマ農牧開発省（ＭＩＤＡ）で探知犬として働いている。
　同省動物衛生課のセシリア・デエスコバル氏は「犬がどうやって（コンテナに）入ったのか、どうして見つからずにいたのか、分かりません」と語る。「４０日間も水も食べ物もなくコンテナの中にいて、どうやって生き抜いたのでしょう」
　コンテナを載せた船は、昨年１２月に２０日間かけて大西洋を渡ってパナマに着くと、その後さらに２０日間、蒸し暑い港に係留された。
　「コンテナの一部は腐食していて、そこに小さな穴がありました。おそらく前足で穴を開けて雨水を飲んでしのいだのでしょう」とデエスコバル氏。
　移動中も係留中も降水量は十分あった。

■奇跡の犬
　コンテナから見つかった犬はパナマ市へと運ばれ、そこで獣医師らの手当てを受けた。
　獣医師でＭＩＤＡの探知犬担当者のウーゴ・トゥリラチ氏は、発見当時の体重は４キロだったと話す。
　「こんなに長く生き延びることができたのは奇跡です。だから『ミラグロス（奇跡の意）』、略して『ミリ』と名付けました」
　トゥリラチ氏は、コンテナに入り込んでしまったときのミリの健康状態がよく、体脂肪が十分だったため何とか生き延びたとみている。
　しっかりと体調を戻した現在、ミリの体重は１２キロとなり、状態も極めていいという。

■探知犬に
　空だったはずの輸送用コンテナの中から発見されて５か月間、しっかりと健康を取り戻したミリはＭＩＤＡの探知犬となるための訓練を受けた。
　ミリが所属するチームは、パナマ市の国際空港に配備された。入国者が持ち込む荷物から生鮮食品を見つけ、国外から病気が入って来るのを阻止するのが主な仕事となっている。
　「ミリは探知犬に必要な性質を兼ね備えています。人懐こいこと、人に対して穏やかなこと、食欲が旺盛なこと、そして遊び好きなことです」と訓練担当官は言う。
　ＭＩＤＡのデエスコバル氏は、「誰にでも人生の目的があると言われますが、ミリにとっては、パナマに迎えられて、わが国に大きな貢献をすることだったのかもしれません」と話した。【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】
〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2022/08/03-14:01）

Workers at Panama's Atlantico port were in for a shock when they opened a shipping container that had arrived from Spain and was meant to be empty.
Inside was a dog, still alive despite having been trapped for 40 days while the container crossed the Atlantic from Andalucia.
The caramel-colored dog, approximately one year old, was skinny, dehydrated and bruised.
Now, after months of rehabilitation and training, Mili has gotten a job at the MIDA agricultural development ministry.
We don't know how she got in, nor how she wasn't detected, said Cecilia de Escobar, the national director for animal health at the ministry.
It's the story of a heroine because a little animal that is inside a container for 40 days, with no water, no food, how did it fight for its life?
The December 2021 oceanic voyage had lasted 20 days before the container sat at the port in hot and humid Panama for another 20 days in January.
A part of the container was corroded and there we found a little hole. We assume she opened the hole with her paw and drank rain water.
Both during the journey and in Panama, there was plenty of rain.
- Miracle dog -
After her discovery, Mili was taken to Panama City and treated by vets and quarantine specialists.
She weighed just nine pounds (4kg) when she arrived, said Hugo Turillazzi, a vet and administrator in the canine unit at MIDA.
Turillazzi believes Mili was in good physical shape when she entered the container and managed to survive off her body fat.
In addition to the rain water, she could have licked the condensation off the container's inner walls or even drunk her own urine.
It's a miracle that this little animal was able to survive so long, that's why we gave her the name Milagros (miracles) or Mili for short, he said.
And as she came from Spain we called her Mili the little Spaniard.
Now fully recovered, Mili weighs 27 pounds and is in tip-top physical shape.
- Cheap four-legged 'scanner' -
During the five months after her discovery, Mili spent time recovering and being trained at the ministry's canine unit.
Having learned to detect the aromas of fruit and vegetables, Mili began working a week ago with good results.
Dogs in her unit work at the capital's international airport, detecting fresh food in travelers' luggage to prevent outside diseases entering the country.
Whenever she detects a suspicious piece of luggage, she scratches it and then sits down beside it waiting for her reward.
Mili has the four basic characteristics that a canine needs to join the unit: friendly, gentle with people, a good appetite and playful, said dog trainer Edgardo Aguirre.
We told ourselves: this little dog has potential, she will be able to make seizures.
Mili has already managed to detect grains, fruit and charcuterie.
She is now training to detect the giant African snail, a species that can ravage local agriculture.
She's a scanner that doesn't cost very much, only the food and affection that we give her, and she's very trustworthy, said Turillazzi.
Now Mili is the one helping those that rescued her.
They say that everyone has a purpose in life, and I feel that Mili's was to be adopted by Panama and to provide a great service to our country, said De Escobar.