Specialist DOC dogs meet public
Department of Conservation working dogs got an unaccustomed feast of pats, hugs, strokes and cuddles at a public introduction to their work on Saturday morning.
A Fiordland Summer Programme family session introduced visitors to the work of DOC's trained dogs – valuable staff members who can locate takahe, kiwi, blue ducks and stoats.
Children watched as Koha scented and tracked a hidden stoat lure in simulated forest terrain.
Handler Jane Tansell, Murchison Mountains kiwi team leader, told the watchers that Koha was especially valuable for checking that supposedly stoat-free areas really had stayed that way.
Koha points to any evidence of stoats, such as dung or the remains of a kill, or even a hole where a stoat had slept recently. This information is invaluable to DOC staff laying stoat traps to protect threatened species such as takahe and kiwi. (click on title to read more)
A Fiordland Summer Programme family session introduced visitors to the work of DOC's trained dogs – valuable staff members who can locate takahe, kiwi, blue ducks and stoats.
Children watched as Koha scented and tracked a hidden stoat lure in simulated forest terrain.
Handler Jane Tansell, Murchison Mountains kiwi team leader, told the watchers that Koha was especially valuable for checking that supposedly stoat-free areas really had stayed that way.
Koha points to any evidence of stoats, such as dung or the remains of a kill, or even a hole where a stoat had slept recently. This information is invaluable to DOC staff laying stoat traps to protect threatened species such as takahe and kiwi. (click on title to read more)
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