By Matthew Littlewood
Part of the multi-agency programme, Te Manahuna Aoraki, which has the aspiration to turn the Basin into a predator-free zone by 2040, DOC ranger Adriana Theobald began using her dog, Julius, a seven-year old german shorthaired pointer cross, to track down feral cats in the Basin last year.
Julius, one of only five conservation dogs in New Zealand trained to search for feral cats, has tracked down 20 that could not be caught by other methods, such as kill traps, live capture traps and night shooting.
However, this year the initiative has been ramped up, with the work being done largely in the lower Tasman River valley, to work out the best methods of utilising the dogs in this type of habitat.
“Julius had been my hunting dog for several years, but he showed a lot of potential to learn new tricks,” Theobald said.
“He was always by my side, and responded to directions well, and I thought this could be a great opportunity.”
While the idea of using conservation dogs is not novel, Theobald said Te Manahuna Aoraki decided to trial using conservation dogs alongside other methods of feral cat control, because the trapping regime was not reducing numbers of feral cats significantly enough.
“Feral cats are apex predator in this environment, and to control them all the ‘tools’ in the ‘tool belt’ need to be implemented and trialled,” she said.
Theobald said feral cats have a large home range and are very mobile, as well as being very adaptable and ‘wild smart’.
“Julius learnt quickly that feral cats can climb trees, so when he is tracking, he also looks up. He also learnt that feral cats could hide in rabbit burrows, so he checks those now as well.
“He is very adaptable. Being good at tracking a target species is also reflective on the time and effort put in by the handler to train the dog.
“Julius is fast and agile, so when he obtains fresh scent, he is more likely to find his target. He is a vocal dog so when he finds the target he will bail.”
