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Beagle 2

Major contractors	EADS Astrium
Mission type	Lander
Launch date	2 June 2003 17:45:00 UTC
Carrier rocket	Soyuz-FG/Fregat
Launch site	Baikonur Cosmodrome Kazakhstan
Mission duration	2003-12-25 03:54:00 UTC Mission failure on day 206
COSPAR ID	2003-022C
Homepage	beagle2.open.ac.uk
Mass	33.2 kg
Instruments
Data rate	2 or 8 kbit/s, 2 to 128 kbit/s

Beagle 2 was an unsuccessful British landing spacecraft that formed part of the European Space Agency's 2003 Mars Express mission. All contact with it was lost upon its separation from the Mars Express six days before its scheduled entry into the atmosphere. The Beagle 2 was named after HMS Beagle, which twice carried Charles Darwin during expeditions which would later lead to the theory of evolution.

Background[link]

Beagle 2 was conceived by a group of British academics headed by Professor Colin Pillinger of the Open University, in collaboration with the University of Leicester. Its purpose was to search for signs of life on Mars, past or present, and its name reflected this goal, as Professor Pillinger explained:

"HMS Beagle was the ship that took Darwin on his voyage around the world in the 1830s and led to our knowledge about life on Earth making a real quantum leap. We hope Beagle 2 will do the same thing for life on Mars."

A point at 10.6°N, 270°W in Isidis Planitia, a large flat sedimentary basin that overlies the boundary between the ancient highlands and the northern plains of Mars, was chosen as the landing site. The lander was expected to operate for about 180 days and an extended mission of up to one Martian year (687 Earth days) was thought possible. The Beagle 2 lander objectives were to characterize the landing site geology, mineralogy, geochemistry and oxidation state, the physical properties of the atmosphere and surface layers, collect data on Martian meteorology and climatology, and search for possible signatures of life.

Pillinger set up a consortium to design and build Beagle 2. The principal members and their initial responsibilities were:

• Open University - Consortium leader & scientific experiments
• University of Leicester - Project management, Mission management, Flight Operations Team, instrument management, and scientific experiments
• Astrium - Main industrial partner
• Martin-Baker - Entry, descent and landing system
• Logica - Cruise, entry, descent and landing software
• SciSys - Ground segment and lander software
• University of Wales, Aberystwyth - Robotic arm

In 2000, when the main development phase started, Astrium took over responsibility for program management, and Leicester assumed responsibility for mission management which involved the preparations for the operations post launch and the operations control center.

In an effort to publicize the project and gain financial support, its designers sought and received the endorsement and participation of British artists. The mission's call-sign was composed by the band Blur, and the 'test card' (Calibration Target Plate) intended for calibrating Beagle 2's cameras and spectrometers after landing was painted by Damien Hirst.

The Lander Operations Control Centre (LOCC) was located at the National Space Centre in Leicester, from which the spacecraft was being controlled, and was visible to the public visiting the center. The control center included operational systems for controlling the Beagle 2, analysis tools for processing engineering and scientific telemetry, virtual reality tools for preparing activity sequences, communications systems, and the Ground Test Model (GTM). The GTM was composed of various builds of the Beagle 2 systems, collected together to provide a full set of lander electronics. The GTM was used nearly continuously to validate the engineering and science commands, to rehearse the landing sequence, and to validate the onboard software.

Spacecraft and subsystems[link]

Beagle 2 had a robotic arm known as the Payload Adjustable Workbench (PAW), designed to be extended after landing. The PAW contained a pair of stereo cameras, a microscope (with a 6 micrometre resolution), a Mössbauer spectrometer, an X-ray spectrometer, a drill for collecting rock samples and a spotlamp. Rock samples were to be passed by the PAW into a mass spectrometer and gas chromatograph in the body of the lander - the GAP (Gas Analysis Package), to measure the relative proportions of different isotopes of carbon. Since carbon is thought to be the basis of all life, these readings could have revealed whether the samples contained the remnants of living organisms.

In addition, Beagle 2 was equipped with a small "mole" (Planetary Undersurface Tool, or PLUTO), to be deployed by the arm. PLUTO had a compressed spring mechanism designed to enable it to move across the surface at a rate of 20 mm per second and to burrow into the ground and collect a subsurface sample in a cavity in its tip. The mole was attached to the lander by a power cable which could be used as a winch to bring the sample back to the lander.

The lander had the shape of a shallow bowl with a diameter of 1m and a depth of 0.25 m. The cover of the lander was hinged and folded open to reveal the interior of the craft which holds a UHF antenna, the 0.75 m long robot arm, and the scientific equipment. The main body also contained the battery, telecommunications, electronics, and central processor, heaters, and additional payload items (radiation and oxidation sensors). The lid itself further unfolded to expose four disk-shaped solar arrays. The lander package had a mass of 69 kg at launch but the actual lander would have been only 33.2 kg at touchdown.

The ground segment itself was derived from the European Space Agency software kernel known as SCOS2000. In keeping with the low cost theme of the mission, the control software was the first of its type deployed on a laptop.

Mission profile[link]

Mars Express launched from Baikonur on 2 June 2003, at 17:45 UTC (18:45 BST). The Beagle 2 was a Mars lander initially mounted on the top deck of the Mars Express Orbiter. It was released from the Orbiter on a ballistic trajectory towards Mars on the 19th of December 2003 at 8:31 UT. Beagle 2 coasted for six days after release and was scheduled to enter the Martian atmosphere, at over 20,000 km/h, on the morning of the 25th of December. The lander was protected from the heat of entry by a heatshield coated with NORCOAT, an ablating material made by EADS. Compression of the martian atmosphere and radiation from the hot gas are estimated to have led to a peak heating rate of around 100 W/cm², comparable to the heat flux experienced by Mars Pathfinder.

After deceleration in the Martian atmosphere, parachutes were to be deployed and about 200 m above the surface large airbags were to inflate around the lander and protect it when it hit the surface. Landing was expected to occur at about 02:45 UT on 25 December (9:45 p.m. EST 24 December). After landing the bags were supposed to deflate and the top of the lander was to open. A signal was supposed to be sent to Mars Express after landing and another the next (local) morning to confirm that Beagle 2 survived the landing and the first night on Mars. A panoramic image of the landing area was then supposed to be taken using the stereo camera and a pop-up mirror, after which the lander arm would have been released. The lander arm was to dig up samples to be deposited in the various instruments for study, and the "mole" would have been deployed, crawling across the surface to a distance of about 3 metres from the lander and burrowing under rocks to collect soil samples for analysis.

The British government spent more than £22 million (US$40 million) on Beagle 2, with the remainder of the total £44 million (US$80 million) coming from the private sector.^[1]

Mission progress[link]

Although the Beagle 2 craft successfully deployed from the Mars Express "mother ship", confirmation of a successful landing was not forthcoming. Confirmation should have come on 25 December 2003, when the Beagle 2 should have contacted NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft that was already in orbit. In the following days, the Lovell Telescope at Jodrell Bank also failed to pick up a signal from Beagle 2. The team said they were "still hopeful" of finding a successful return signal.

Attempts were made throughout January and February 2004 to contact Beagle 2 using Mars Express. The first of these occurred on 7 January 2004, but ended in failure. Although regular calls were made, particular hope was placed on communication occurring on 12 January, when Beagle 2 was pre-programmed to expect the Mars Express probe to fly overhead, and on 2 February, when the probe was supposed to resort to the last communication back-up mode: Autotransmit. However, no communication was ever established with Beagle 2. Beagle 2 was declared lost on 6 February 2004, by the Beagle 2 Management Board. On 11 February, ESA announced an inquiry would be held into the failure of Beagle 2.

On 20 December 2005, Professor Pillinger released specially-processed images from the Mars Global Surveyor which suggested that Beagle 2 came down in a crater at the landing site on Isidis Planitia.^[2] It was claimed that the blurry images show the primary impact site as a dark patch and a short distance away, Beagle 2 surrounded by the deflated airbags and with its solar panels extended.^[3] However, Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter's HiRISE camera subsequently observed the area, in February 2007, and revealed that the crater was empty.^[4] While that mission ended in disaster, the Mars Express Orbiter that carried the Beagle 2 to Mars has been a success.

Failures in missions to Mars are common. As of 2010, of 38 launch attempts to reach the planet, only 19 have succeeded. See the so-called Mars Curse for details.

ESA/UK inquiry report[link]

In May 2004, the report from the Commission of Inquiry on Beagle 2 was submitted to ESA and the UK's science minister Lord Sainsbury.^[5] Initially the full report was not published on the grounds of confidentiality, but a list of 19 recommendations was announced to the public.

Professor David Southwood, ESA's director of science, provided four scenarios of possible failures:

• Beagle entered in atmospheric conditions outside the range assumed by its designers and could have burnt up. The scenario that it may have "bounced off into space" has been put forward but this does not stand up to close technical scrutiny. The amount of dust in the atmosphere often varies widely, changing its density and temperature characteristics. However, the chosen margins on the design of the heat shield and the thermal loads it can withstand are such that the burn-up scenario is unlikely, and even the worst case density variations certainly are not such that, given the steep entry flight path angle at entry, the craft could conceivably have left the atmosphere again (see also Section 6.1 of the Inquiry Report, which states explicitly: "the Commission concludes that deviation of the atmospheric entry conditions is not a probable failure mode of the mission");
• The probe's parachute or cushioning airbags failed to deploy or deployed at the wrong time. This is supported by the observation that throughout the transfer to Mars, the outgassing of some substance and subsequent condensation on optical components of the Mars Express spacecraft carrying the Beagle lander was observed. This observation would be consistent with a leak in the gas generators of Beagle's airbags;
• Beagle's backshell tangled with the parachute preventing it from opening properly. It is not clear whether the difference in air drag between the probe with the parachute deployed and the back shell of the heat shield is sufficient to guarantee a safe separation distance (see Section 5.4.4 of the Inquiry Report);
• Beagle became wrapped up in its airbags or parachute on the surface and could not open. Entanglement with the parachute appears plausible in view of the fact that the parachute's strop was shortened from the original design to save mass. Assuming that the airbags deployed, Beagle would, in the scenario, have bounced off the surface right back into the descending parachute (see also Section 5.4.6 of the Inquiry Report).

In addition, further scenarios appear plausible and consistent with the available body of data:

• Beagle may have jettisoned its airbags too early, before it had come to a complete rest on the surface. For mass and cost reasons, the airbag jettison device was designed to be triggered by a timer rather than by acceleration sensors that would have discerned when the lander package had stopped moving. Given that the landing package of NASA's Spirit rover mission rebounded off the surface in Gusev crater numerous times before coming to a standstill - taking much more time than anticipated - Beagle's timer may have been set to a too short time (see Section 5.4.8 of the Inquiry Report);
• The parachute deployment sequence was designed triggered by three accelerometers. The system was not designed for a "best out of three" logic. Rather, the first accelerometer to compute that a safe deployment velocity had been reached would trigger the parachute deployment sequence, even if the accelerometer readout were faulty.

In February 2005, following comments from the House of Commons Select Committee on Science and Technology, the report was made public, and Leicester University independently published a detailed mission report, including possible failure modes, and a "lessons learned" pamphlet.

Beagle 2 in fiction[link]

Beagle 2 was inaccurately portrayed as a rover and a JPL and NASA project in the 2007 Transformers movie. After landing on Mars it was revealed it was destroyed by a Decepticon 13 seconds after being activated. Afterwards the incident was classified above Top Secret by the US government, and declared a complete failure to the public (saying it crashed on Mars instead) but later became a warning that the Transformers were coming to Earth.

In the Facebook game Assassin's Creed: Project Legacy, Chapter 1 of the Holiday Set involves Beagle 2 being secretly co-opted by an unspecified organization, a freelance spy having hidden the lander's survival from everyone else at Mission Control while rerouting its controls to a laptop that she handed over to her handler.

See also[link]

• Beagle 3 (cancelled)
• Life on Mars
• Atmospheric reentry
• Unmanned space missions

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official website
• Mars Express
• Beagle 2 Mission Profile by NASA's Solar System Exploration
• BBC guide to Beagle 2
• Beagle 2 may have sped to its death (New Scientist, 8 March 2004 )
• University of Leicester Mission Report and Lessons Learned

v t e Spacecraft missions to Mars Past Flybys Mars 1M No.1 Mars 1M No.2 Mars 2MV-4 No.1 Mars 1 Mars 2MV-3 No.1 Zond 2 Mariner 3 Mariner 4 Mariner 6 Mars 2M No.521 Mariner 7 Mars 2M No.522 Mars 4 Rosetta Dawn Orbiters Mariner 8 Mariner 9 Kosmos 419 Mars 2 Mars 3 Mars 4 Mars 5 Viking 1 Viking 2 Mars Observer Mars Global Surveyor Mars 96 Mars Climate Orbiter Nozomi Yinghuo-1 Landers Mars 2 Mars 3 Mars 6 Viking 1 Viking 2 Mars Pathfinder Mars Polar Lander Deep Space 2 Beagle 2 Phoenix Rovers Sojourner Spirit Other Fobos 1 Fobos 2 Fobos-Grunt Present 2001 Mars Odyssey Mars Express Opportunity Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter En route Mars Science Laboratory Future MAVEN Indian Mars Mission ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter and static lander ExoMars rover InSight MetNet Mars-Grunt Northern Light Chinese Red Dragon Failed missions are listed in italics

Beagle

Tricolour Beagle
Other names	English Beagle
Country of origin	Great Britain
Traits Weight Male 22-25 lb (10-11 kg) Female 20-23 lb (9-10 kg) Coat Close, hard, hound coat of medium length Color Tricolour or white in combination with red, lemon, or orange,brown Litter size 2–14 puppies Life span 10-13 years
Classification and standards FCI Group 6 Section 1 #161 standard AKC Hound standard ANKC Group 4 (Hounds) standard CKC Group 2 – Hounds standard KC (UK) Hound standard NZKC Hound standard UKC Scenthound standard
Dog (Canis lupus familiaris)

The Beagle is a breed of small to medium-sized dog. A member of the Hound Group, it is similar in appearance to the Foxhound, but smaller, with shorter legs and longer, softer ears. Beagles are scent hounds, developed primarily for tracking hare, rabbit, and other game. They have a great sense of smell and tracking instinct that sees them employed as detection dogs for prohibited agricultural imports and foodstuffs in quarantine around the world. Beagles are intelligent, and are popular as pets because of their size, even temper, and lack of inherited health problems. These characteristics also make them the dog of choice for animal testing.

Although beagle-type dogs have existed for over 2,000 years, the modern breed was developed in Great Britain around the 1830s from several breeds, including the Talbot Hound, the North Country Beagle, the Southern Hound, and possibly the Harrier.

Beagles have been depicted in popular culture since Elizabethan times in literature and paintings, and more recently in film, television and comic books. Snoopy of the comic strip Peanuts has been promoted as "the world's most famous beagle".^[1]

History[link]

Early beagle-type dogs[link]

Dogs of similar size and purpose to the modern Beagle^[a] can be traced in Ancient Greece^[2] back to around the 5th century BC. Xenophon, born around 433 BC, in his Treatise on Hunting or Cynegeticus refers to a hound that hunted hares by scent and was followed on foot. Small hounds are mentioned in the Forest Laws of Canute which exempted them from the ordinance which commanded that all dogs capable of running down a stag should have one foot mutilated.^[3] If genuine, these laws would confirm that beagle-type dogs were present in England before 1016, but it is likely the laws were written in the Middle Ages to give a sense of antiquity and tradition to Forest Law.^[4]

The Southern Hound is thought to be an ancestor of the Beagle

In the 11th century, William the Conqueror brought the Talbot hound to Britain. The Talbot was a predominantly white, slow, deep-throated, scent hound derived from the St. Hubert Hound which had been developed in the 8th century. At some point the English Talbots were crossed with Greyhounds to give them an extra turn of speed.^[5] Long extinct, the Talbot strain probably gave rise to the Southern Hound which, in turn, is thought to be an ancestor of the modern day Beagle.^[b]

From medieval times, beagle was used as a generic description for the smaller hounds, though these dogs differed considerably from the modern breed. Miniature breeds of beagle-type dogs were known from the times of Edward II and Henry VII, who both had packs of Glove Beagles, so named since they were small enough to fit on a glove, and Queen Elizabeth I kept a breed known as a Pocket Beagle, which stood 8 to 9 inches (20 to 23 cm) at the shoulder. Small enough to fit in a "pocket" or saddlebag, they rode along on the hunt. The larger hounds would run the prey to ground, then the hunters would release the small dogs to continue the chase through underbrush. Elizabeth I referred to the dogs as her singing beagles and often entertained guests at her royal table by letting her Pocket Beagles cavort amid their plates and cups.^[6] 19th-century sources refer to these breeds interchangeably and it is possible that the two names refer to the same small variety. In George Jesse's Researches into the History of the British Dog from 1866, the early 17th century poet and writer Gervase Markham is quoted referring to the Beagle as small enough to sit on a man's hand and to the:

little small mitten-beagle, which may be companion for a ladies kirtle, and in the field will run as cunningly as any hound whatere, only their musick is very small like reeds.^[7]

Standards for the Pocket Beagle were drawn up as late as 1901; these genetic lines are now extinct, although modern breeders have attempted to recreate the variety.^[8]

Eighteenth century[link]

This image from the turn of the 19th century shows a dog with a heavier body and lacking the refined features of later strains.

By the 18th century two breeds had been developed for hunting hare and rabbit: the Southern Hound and the North Country Beagle (or Northern Hound). The Southern Hound, a tall, heavy dog with a square head, and long, soft ears, was common from south of the River Trent and probably closely related to the Talbot Hound. Though slow, it had stamina and an excellent scenting ability. The North Country Beagle, possibly a cross between an offshoot of the Talbot stock and a Greyhound, was bred chiefly in Yorkshire and was common in the northern counties. It was smaller than the Southern Hound, less heavy-set and with a more pointed muzzle. It was faster than its southern counterpart but its scenting abilities were less well developed.^[9] As fox hunting became increasingly popular, numbers of both types of hound diminished. The beagle-type dogs were crossed with larger breeds such as Stag Hounds to produce the modern Foxhound. The beagle-size varieties came close to extinction but some farmers in the South ensured the survival of the prototype breeds by maintaining small rabbit-hunting packs.

Development of the modern breed[link]

Reverend Phillip Honeywood established a Beagle pack in Essex in the 1830s and it is believed that this pack formed the basis for the modern Beagle breed. Although details of the pack's lineage are not recorded it is thought that North Country Beagles and Southern Hounds were strongly represented; William Youatt suspected that Harriers formed a good majority of the Beagle's bloodline, but the origin of the Harrier is itself obscure.^[10] Honeywood's Beagles were small, standing at about 10 inches (25 cm) at the shoulder, and pure white according to John Mills (writing in The Sportsman's Library in 1845). Prince Albert and Lord Winterton also had Beagle packs around this time, and royal favour no doubt led to some revival of interest in the breed, but Honeywood's pack was regarded as the finest of the three.^[11]

Early images of the Beagle (clockwise from top left): 1833, 1835, Stonehenge's Medium (1859, reusing Youtt's 1852 "Beagle" image) and Dwarf Beagle (1859).

Although credited with the development of the modern breed, Honeywood concentrated on producing dogs for hunting and it was left to Thomas Johnson to refine the breeding to produce dogs that were both attractive and capable hunters. Two strains were developed: the rough- and smooth-coated varieties. The rough-coated Beagle survived until the beginning of the 20th century, and there were even records of one making an appearance at a dog show as late as 1969, but this variety is now extinct, having probably been absorbed into the standard Beagle bloodline.^[12]

In the 1840s, a standard Beagle type was beginning to develop: the distinction between the North Country Beagle and Southern Hound had been lost, but there was still a large variation in size, character, and reliability among the emerging packs.^[13] In 1856, "Stonehenge" (the pseudonym of John Henry Walsh, editor of The Field), writing in the Manual of British Rural Sports was still dividing Beagles into four varieties: the medium Beagle; the dwarf or lapdog Beagle; the fox Beagle (a smaller, slower version of the Foxhound); and the rough-coated or terrier Beagle, which he classified as a cross between any of the other varieties and one of the Scottish terrier breeds.^[14] Stonehenge also gives the start of a standard description:

In size the beagle measures from 10 inches, or even less, to 15. In shape they resemble the old southern hound in miniature, but with more neatness and beauty; and they also resemble that hound in style of hunting.^[14]

By 1887 the threat of extinction was on the wane: there were 18 Beagle packs in England.^[15] The Beagle Club was formed in 1890 and the first standard drawn up at the same time.^[16] The following year the Association of Masters of Harriers and Beagles was formed. Both organisations aimed to further the best interests of the breed, and both were keen to produce a standard type of Beagle.^[17] By 1902 the number of packs had risen to 44.^[15]

Export[link]

Beagles were in the United States by the 1840s at the latest, but the first dogs were imported strictly for hunting and were of variable quality. Since Honeywood had only started breeding in the 1830s, it is unlikely these dogs were representative of the modern breed and the description of them as looking like straight-legged Dachshunds with weak heads has little resemblance to the standard. Serious attempts at establishing a quality bloodline began in the early 1870s when General Richard Rowett from Illinois imported some dogs from England and began breeding. Rowett's Beagles are believed to have formed the models for the first American standard, drawn up by Rowett, L. H. Twadell, and Norman Ellmore in 1887.^[18] The Beagle was accepted as a breed by the American Kennel Club (AKC) in 1884. In the 20th century the breed has spread worldwide.

Popularity[link]

An attractive uniform type for the breed developed at the start of the 20th century

On its formation, the Association of Masters of Harriers and Beagles took over the running of a regular show at Peterborough that had started in 1889, and the Beagle Club in the UK held its first show in 1896.^[16] The regular showing of the breed led to the development of a uniform type, and the Beagle continued to prove a success up until the outbreak of World War I when all shows were suspended. After the war, the breed was again struggling for survival in the UK: the last of the Pocket Beagles was probably lost during this time, and registrations fell to an all-time low. A few breeders (notably Reynalton Kennels) managed to revive interest in the dog and by World War II, the breed was once again doing well. Registrations dropped again after the end of the war but almost immediately recovered.^[19]

As purebred dogs, Beagles have always been more popular in the United States and Canada than in their native country. The National Beagle Club of America was formed in 1888 and by 1901 a Beagle had won a Best in Show title. As in the UK, activity during World War I was minimal, but the breed showed a much stronger revival in the U.S. when hostilities ceased. In 1928 it won a number of prizes at the Westminster Kennel Club's show and by 1939 a Beagle – Champion Meadowlark Draughtsman – had captured the title of top-winning American-bred dog for the year.^[20] On 12 February 2008, a Beagle, K-Run's Park Me In First (Uno), won the Best In Show category at the Westminster Kennel Club show for the first time in the competition's history.^[21] In North America they have been consistently in the top-ten most-popular breeds for over 30 years. From 1953 to 1959 the Beagle was ranked No. 1 on the list of the American Kennel Club's registered breeds;^[22] in 2005 and 2006 it ranked 5th out of the 155 breeds registered.^[23] In the UK they are not quite so popular, placing 28th and 30th in the rankings of registrations with the Kennel Club in 2005 and 2006 respectively.^[24]

Name[link]

According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the first mention of the beagle by name in English literature dates from ca. 1475 in the Esquire of Low Degree. The origin of the word "beagle" is uncertain, although it has been suggested that the word derives from the French begueule (meaning "open throat" from bayer "open wide" and gueule "mouth")^[25] or from an Old English, French, or the Gaelic word beag, meaning "little." Other possibilities include the French beugler (meaning "to bellow") and the German begele (meaning "to scold").

It is not known why the black and tan Kerry Beagle, present in Ireland since Celtic times, has the beagle description, since at 22 to 24 inches (56 to 61 cm) it is significantly taller than the modern day Beagle, and in earlier times was even larger. Some writers suggest that the Beagle's scenting ability may have come from cross-breeding earlier strains with the Kerry Beagle. Originally used for hunting stags, it is today used for hare and drag hunting.

Description[link]

Appearance[link]

The Kennel Club (UK) standard states the Beagle should give the impression of quality without coarseness.

The general appearance of the Beagle resembles a miniature Foxhound, but the head is broader and the muzzle shorter, the expression completely different and the legs shorter in proportion to the body.^[26] They are generally between 13 and 16 inches (33 and 41 cm) high at the withers and weigh between 18 and 35 lb (8.2 and 16 kg), with females being slightly smaller than males on average.^[27]

They have a smooth, somewhat domed skull with a medium-length, square-cut muzzle and a black (or occasionally liver), gumdrop nose. The jaw is strong and the teeth scissor together with the upper teeth fitting perfectly over the lower teeth and both sets aligned square to the jaw. The eyes are large, hazel or brown, with a mild hound-like pleading look. The large ears are long, soft and low-set, turning towards the cheeks slightly and rounded at the tips. Beagles have a strong, medium-length neck (which is long enough for them to easily bend to the ground to pick up a scent), with little folding in the skin but some evidence of a dewlap; a broad chest narrowing to a tapered abdomen and waist and a short, slightly curved tail (known as the "stern") tipped with white. The white tip, known as the flag has been selectively bred for, as it allows the dog to be easily seen when its head is down following a scent.^[28] The tail does not curl over the back, but is held upright when the dog is active. The Beagle has a muscular body and a medium-length, smooth, hard coat. The front legs are straight and carried under the body while the rear legs are muscular and well bent at the stifles.^[29]

Colouring[link]

A pair of Polish show Beagles showing a faded tricolour

Beagles appear in a range of colours. Although the tricolour (white with large black areas and light brown shading) is the most common, Beagles can occur in any hound colour.

Tricoloured dogs occur in a number of shades, from the "Classic Tri" with a jet black saddle (also known as "Blackback"), to the "Dark Tri" (where faint brown markings are intermingled with more prominent black markings), to the "Faded Tri" (where faint black markings are intermingled with more prominent brown markings). Some tricoloured dogs have a broken pattern, sometimes referred to as pied. These dogs have mostly white coats with patches of black and brown hair. Tricolour Beagles are almost always born black and white. The white areas are typically set by eight weeks, but the black areas may fade to brown as the puppy matures. (The brown may take between one and two years to fully develop.) Some Beagles gradually change colour during their lives, and may lose their black markings entirely.

Two-colour varieties always have a white base colour with areas of the second colour. Tan and white is the most common two-colour variety, but there is a wide range of other colours including lemon, a very light tan; red, a reddish, almost orange, brown; and liver, a darker brown, and black. Liver is not common and is not permitted in some standards; it tends to occur with yellow eyes. Ticked or mottled varieties may be either white or black with different coloured flecks (ticking), such as the blue-mottled or bluetick Beagle, which has spots that appear to be a midnight-blue colour, similar to the colouring of the Bluetick Coonhound. Some tricolour Beagles also have ticking of various colours in their white areas.^[30][31]

Sense of smell[link]

Alongside the Bloodhound, the Beagle has one of the best developed senses of smell of any dog.^[32] In the 1950s, John Paul Scott and John Fuller began a 13 year study into canine behaviour. As part of this research, they tested the scenting abilities of various breeds by putting a mouse in a 1-acre (4,000 m²) field and timing how long it took the dogs to find it. The Beagles found it in less than a minute, while Fox Terriers took 15 minutes and Scottish Terriers failed to find it at all. Beagles are better at ground-scenting (following a trail on the ground) than they are at air-scenting, and for this reason they have been excluded from most mountain rescue teams in favour of collies, which use sight in addition to air-scenting and are more biddable.^[32] The long ears and large lips of the Beagle probably assist in trapping the scents close to the nose.^[33]

Variations[link]

Breed varieties[link]

The American Kennel Club recognizes two separate varieties of Beagle: the 13-inch for hounds less than 13 inches (33 cm), and the 15-inch for those between 13 and 15 inches (33 and 38 cm). The Canadian Kennel Club recognizes a single type, with a height not exceeding 15 inches (38 cm). The Kennel Club (UK) and FCI affiliated clubs recognize a single type, with a height of between 13 and 16 inches (33 and 41 cm).

A Puggle, a Beagle/Pug cross, shows traits from both breeds.

English and American varieties are sometimes mentioned. However, there is no official recognition from any Kennel Club for this distinction. Beagles fitting the American Kennel Club standard – which disallows animals over 15 inches (38 cm) – are smaller on average than those fitting the Kennel Club standard which allows heights up to 16 inches (41 cm).

Pocket Beagles are sometimes advertised for sale but the bloodline for this variety is extinct, and, although the UK Kennel Club originally specified a standard for the Pocket Beagle in 1901, the variety is not now recognised by any Kennel Club. Often, small Beagles are the result of poor breeding or dwarfism.^[8]

A strain known as Patch Hounds was developed by Willet Randall and his family from 1896 specifically for their rabbit hunting ability. They trace their bloodline back to Field Champion Patch, but do not necessarily have a patchwork marking.^[34][35]

Crossbreeds[link]

In the 1850s, Stonehenge recommended a cross between a Beagle and a Scottish Terrier as a retriever. He found the crossbreed to be a good worker, silent and obedient, but it had the drawback that it was small and could barely carry a hare.^[36]

More recently the trend has been for "designer dogs" and one of the most popular has been the Beagle/Pug cross known as a Puggle. Less excitable than a Beagle and with a lower exercise requirement, these dogs are suited to city dwelling.^[37]

Temperament[link]

Beagles are happy to rest without being exercised to exhaustion.

The Beagle has an even temper and gentle disposition. Described in several breed standards as "merry", they are amiable and generally neither aggressive nor timid. They enjoy company, and although they may initially be standoffish with strangers, they are easily won over. They make poor guard dogs for this reason, although their tendency to bark or howl when confronted with the unfamiliar makes them good watch dogs. In a 1985 study conducted by Ben and Lynette Hart, the Beagle was given the highest excitability rating, along with the Yorkshire Terrier, Cairn Terrier, Miniature Schnauzer, West Highland White Terrier and Fox Terrier.^[38][c]

Beagles are intelligent but, as a result of being bred for the long chase, are single-minded and determined, which can make them hard to train. They are generally obedient, but can be difficult to recall once they have picked up a scent, and are easily distracted by smells around them. They do not generally feature in obedience trials; while they are alert, respond well to food-reward training, and are eager to please, they are easily bored or distracted. They are ranked 72nd in Stanley Coren's The Intelligence of Dogs, as Coren places them among the group with the lowest degree of working/obedience intelligence. Coren's scale, however, does not assess understanding, independence, or creativity.^[39][40]

Beagles are excellent with children and this is one of the reasons they have become popular family pets, but they are pack animals, and can be prone to separation anxiety.^[41] Not all Beagles will howl, but most will bark when confronted with strange situations, and some will bay (also referred to as "speaking", "giving tongue", or "opening") when they catch the scent of potential quarry.^[42] They also generally get along well with other dogs. They are not demanding with regard to exercise; their inbred stamina means they do not easily tire when exercised, but they also do not need to be worked to exhaustion before they will rest, though regular exercise helps ward off the weight gain to which the breed is prone.^[43]

Beagles are also one of the best breeds to own with cats. They are known to be very gentle with cats and very rarely display aggression towards them. They often form loving bonds with cats they live with.

Health[link]

Day-old Beagle puppies

The typical longevity of Beagles is 10–13 years,^[44] which is a common lifespan for dogs of their size.^[45]

Beagles may be prone to epilepsy, but this can be controlled with medication. Hypothyroidism and a number of types of dwarfism occur in Beagles. Two conditions in particular are unique to the breed: Funny Puppy, in which the puppy is slow to develop and eventually develops weak legs, a crooked back and although normally healthy, is prone to a range of illnesses;^[46] Hip dysplasia, common in Harriers and in some larger breeds, is rarely considered a problem in Beagles.^[47] Beagles are considered a chondrodystrophic breed, meaning that they are prone to types of disk diseases.^[48]

Weight gain can be a problem in older or sedentary dogs, which in turn can lead to heart and joint problems.

In rare cases, Beagles may develop immune mediated polygenic arthritis (where the immune system attacks the joints) even at a young age. The symptoms can sometimes be relieved by steroid treatments.^[46]

Their long floppy ears can mean that the inner ear does not receive a substantial air flow or that moist air becomes trapped, and this can lead to ear infections. Beagles may also be affected by a range of eye problems; two common ophthalmic conditions in Beagles are glaucoma and corneal dystrophy.^[49] "Cherry eye", a prolapse of the gland of the third eyelid, and distichiasis, a condition in which eyelashes grow into the eye causing irritation, sometimes exist; both these conditions can be corrected with surgery.^[46] They can suffer from several types of retinal atrophy. Failure of the nasolacrimal drainage system can cause dry eye or leakage of tears onto the face.^[46]

As field dogs they are prone to minor injuries such as cuts and sprains, and, if inactive, obesity is a common problem as they will eat whenever food is available and rely on their owners to regulate their weight.^[46] When working or running free they are also likely to pick up parasites such as fleas, ticks, harvest mites and tapeworms, and irritants such as grass seeds can become trapped in their eyes, soft ears or paws.^[50]

Beagles may exhibit a behaviour known as reverse sneezing, in which they sound as if they are choking or gasping for breath, but are actually drawing air in through the mouth and nose. The exact cause of this behaviour is not known, but it is not harmful to the dog.

Working life[link]

Hunting[link]

The Caynsham Foot Beagles (c.1885)

Beagles were developed primarily for hunting hare, an activity known as beagling. They were seen as ideal hunting companions for the elderly who could follow on horseback without exerting themselves, for young hunters who could keep up with them on ponies, and for the poorer hunters who could not afford to maintain a stable of good hunting horses.^[51] Before the advent of the fashion for foxhunting in the 19th century, hunting was an all day event where the enjoyment was derived from the chase rather than the kill. In this setting the tiny Beagle was well matched to the hare, as unlike Harriers they would not quickly finish the hunt, but because of their excellent scent-tracking skills and stamina they were almost guaranteed to eventually catch the hare. The Beagle packs would run closely together ("so close that they might be covered with a sheet"^[10]) which was useful in a long hunt, as it prevented stray dogs from obscuring the trail. In thick undergrowth they were also preferred to spaniels when hunting pheasant.^[52]

With the fashion for faster hunts, the Beagle fell out of favour for chasing hare, but was still employed for rabbit hunting. In Anecdotes of Dogs (1846), Edward Jesse says:

In rabbit-shooting, in gorse and thick cover, nothing can be more cheerful than the beagle; and they have been called rabbit-beagles from this employment, for which they are peculiarly qualified, especially those dogs which are somewhat wire-haired.^[6]

The Beagle has been used for rabbit-hunting since the earliest development of the breed.

In the United States they appear to have been employed chiefly for hunting rabbits from the earliest imports. Hunting hare with Beagles became popular again in Britain in the mid-19th century and continued until it was made illegal in Scotland by the Protection of Wild Mammals (Scotland) Act 2002 and in England and Wales by the Hunting Act 2004. Under this legislation Beagles may still pursue rabbits with the landowner's permission. Drag hunting is popular where hunting is no longer permitted or for those owners who do not wish to participate in hunting a live animal, but still wish to exercise their dog's innate skills.

The traditional foot pack consists of up to 40 Beagles, marshalled by a Huntsman who directs the pack and who is assisted by a variable number of whippers-in whose job is to return straying hounds to the pack. The Master of the Hunt is in overall day-to-day charge of the pack, and may or may not take on the role of Huntsman on the day of the hunt.

As hunting with Beagles was seen as ideal for young people, many of the British public schools traditionally maintained Beagle packs. Protests were lodged against Eton's use of Beagles for hunting as early as 1902 but the pack is still in existence today,^[53] and a pack used by Imperial College in Wye, Kent was stolen by the Animal Liberation Front in 2001.^[54] School and university packs are still maintained by Eton, Marlborough, Wye, Radley, the Royal Agricultural College and Christ Church, Oxford.^[55]

In addition to organized beagling, beagles have been used for hunting or flushing to guns (often in pairs) a wide range of game including Snowshoe Hare, Cottontail rabbits, game birds, Roe Deer, Red Deer, Bobcat, Coyote, Wild Boar and foxes, and have even been recorded as being used to hunt Stoat.^[56][57] In most of these cases, the Beagle is employed as a gun dog, flushing game for hunter's guns.^[56]

Quarantine[link]

Beagles have excellent noses; this dog is employed by the US Customs and Border Protection Agency.

Beagles are used as detection dogs in the Beagle Brigade of the United States Department of Agriculture. These dogs are used to detect food items in luggage being taken into the United States. After trialling several breeds, Beagles were chosen because they are relatively small and unintimidating for people who are uncomfortable around dogs, easy to care for, intelligent and work well for rewards.^[58] They are also used for this purpose in a number of other countries including by the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry in New Zealand, the Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service, and in Canada, Japan and the People's Republic of China.^[59] Larger breeds are generally used for detection of explosives as this often involves climbing over luggage and on large conveyor belts, work for which the smaller Beagle is not suited.^[60]

Testing[link]

Beagles are the dog breed most often used in animal testing, due to their size and passive nature. Of the 8,018 dogs used in testing in the UK in 2004, 7,799 were Beagles (97.3%).^[61] In the UK, the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 gave special status to primates, equids, cats and dogs and in 2005 the Animal Procedures Committee (set up by the act) ruled that testing on mice was preferable, even though a greater number of individual animals were involved.^[62] In 2005 Beagles were involved in less than 0.3% of the total experiments on animals in the UK, but of the 7670 experiments performed on dogs 7406 involved Beagles (96.6%).^[63] Most dogs are bred specifically for this purpose, by companies such as Harlan. In the UK companies breeding animals for research must be licensed under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act.^[62]

Testing of cosmetic products on animals is banned in the member states of European Community,^[64] although France protested the ban and has made efforts to have it lifted.^[65] It is permitted in the United States but is not mandatory if safety can be ascertained by other methods, and the test species is not specified by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).^[66] When testing toxicity of food additives, food contaminants, and some drugs and chemicals the FDA uses Beagles and miniature pigs as surrogates for direct human testing.^[67]

Anti-vivisection groups have reported on abuse of animals inside testing facilities. In 1997 footage secretly filmed by a freelance journalist inside Huntingdon Life Sciences in the UK showed staff punching and screaming at Beagles.^[68] Consort Kennels, a UK-based breeder of Beagles for testing, closed down in 1997 after pressure from animal rights groups.^[69]

Medical research[link]

In the United States where the breeds of dog used are not specified (although Beagles feature heavily in published research papers) the number of tests performed each year on dogs dropped by two-thirds, from 195,157 to 64,932, over the period from 1972 to 2004.^[70] In Japan the laws on animal experimentation do not require reporting on the types or number of animals used,^[71] and in France the proportion of inspectors to testing facilities means the regulatory environment is essentially one of trust.^[71]

Beagles are used in a range of research procedures: fundamental biological research, applied human medicine, applied veterinary medicine, and protection of man, animals or the environment.^[63][71]

Other roles[link]

Although bred for hunting, Beagles are versatile and are nowadays employed for various other roles in detection, therapy, and as family pets.^[28] Beagles are used as sniffer dogs for termite detection in Australia,^[72] and have been mentioned as possible candidates for drug and explosive detection.^[73][74] Because of their gentle nature and unimposing build, they are also frequently used in pet therapy, visiting the sick and elderly in hospital.^[75] In June 2006, a trained Beagle assistance dog was credited with saving the life of its owner after using her owner's mobile phone to dial an emergency number.^[76] In the aftermath of the 2010 Haiti earthquake, a Beagle search and rescue dog with a Colombian rescue squad was credited with locating the owner of the Hôtel Montana, who was subsequently rescued after spending 100 hours buried in the rubble.^[77]

In popular culture[link]

Beagles have been featured across a wide range of media. References to the dog appear before the 19th century in works by such writers as William Shakespeare, John Webster, John Dryden, Thomas Tickell, Henry Fielding and William Cowper, and in Alexander Pope's translation of Homer's Iliad.^[d] Beagles appeared in comic strips and animated cartoons from the 1950s with the Peanuts character Snoopy (billed as "the world's most famous Beagle"^[1]), Walt Disney's Beagle Boys and Beegle Beagle, the constant companion of Hanna-Barbera's Grape Ape. They have appeared in numerous films, taking a central role in Underdog, Cats & Dogs and its sequel, and the title roles in the adaptation of Phyllis Reynolds Naylor's book Shiloh. They have played supporting roles in films including Audition, The Monster Squad and The Royal Tenenbaums, and on television in Star Trek: Enterprise, EastEnders, The Wonder Years, and To the Manor Born among others. Former US President Lyndon Baines Johnson had several Beagles, and caused an outcry when he picked up one of them by its ears during an official greeting on the White House lawn.^[78] The ship on which Charles Darwin made the voyage which provided much of the inspiration for On the Origin of Species was named HMS Beagle after the breed, and, in turn, lent its name to the ill-fated British Martian lander Beagle 2.

Notes[link]

Citations[link]