Lesson plan

Rusik

Rusik was the first Russian police sniffer cat in Stavropol, a city near the Caspian Sea. He made an important contribution in the search for hidden illegal cargoes of sturgeon fish, an endangered species, and caviar. Rusik began his sniffing career when he first appeared at a police checkpoint in 2002. Following his adoption by the staff, Rusik demonstrated his ability to sniff out sturgeon-smugglers' stashes with accuracy. His talent for sniffing out poached fish soon found him taking over the job of the police's canine team member. Rusik died in the line of duty in June 2003, when he was hit by a car during an inspection, immediately after searching a bus. He had apparently found smuggled sturgeon in the same car some time before, according to personnel at the police checkpoint. . Rusik was a tabby with only a year's service at the time of his death.

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Article summary

Rusik was the first Russian police sniffer cat in Stavropol, a city near the Caspian Sea. He made an important contribution in the search for hidden illegal cargoes of sturgeon fish, an endangered species, and caviar. Rusik began his sniffing career when he first appeared at a police checkpoint in 2002. Following his adoption by the staff, Rusik demonstrated his ability to sniff out sturgeon-smugglers' stashes with accuracy. His talent for sniffing out poached fish soon found him taking over the job of the police's canine team member. Rusik died in the line of duty in June 2003, when he was hit by a car during an inspection, immediately after searching a bus. He had apparently found smuggled sturgeon in the same car some time before, according to personnel at the police checkpoint. . Rusik was a tabby with only a year's service at the time of his death.

Key claims

  1. date of death: 2003 — source: Wikipedia · confidence 0.95

Discussion questions

  1. Summarise the article in your own words. Which single claim would you verify first, and why?
  2. The record states that the date of death is "2003". What evidence would count against this claim?
  3. Which claim in this article is most likely to be revised as the sources update? How would you check its current status?
  4. If two sources disagreed about one of these facts, what would you need in order to trust one over the other?

Bibliography

  1. Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=1311730177

Key claims and bibliography are generated from the same tracked claims and sources as the article page.