Book of the week
EXTRACT Ajax the Kea Dog by Corey Mosen (Allen & Unwin NZ) $39.99
We set off down the mountain and into the dappled light of the mossladen beech forest. Ajax happily follows me as I make my way among the trees, heading for a spot where I know there are likely to be kea nests. Actually, I say that Ajax follows me, but at the start of the day he’s usually so excited that he’ll take off ahead of me, and he’ll have to keep either doubling back or turning around to make sure
he’s going the right way! That lasts until about lunchtime, after which he slows down a bit; then he’ll be just behind me for the rest of the day.
As we’re walking, Ajax is always scoping out what’s happening around us, having a good sniff here and there to make sure he’s not missing anything. If he does find a smell that he’s interested in, he’ll head off in the direction of whatever he’s found. He never does this without making sure that I know where he’s going, though, and that I’m following him. When he’s on the scent of something he has some pretty classic pointing
behaviours, and I know him so well I know exactly what he’s trying to tell me.
If it’s a kea nest, he’ll sit down in front of it and wait until I get there. One of the key ways I can tell that he knows he’s found what I’m after is that he looks really chuffed with himself. He absolutely loves working, and is never happier than when he’s found an active or recently used nest. Even after years of tracking these birds, he still gets a real kick when he actually finds them.
When I get to the spot that he’s trying to show me, I give him a big pat and make a real fuss of him. He loves nothing more than being told he’s a good boy! That’s all the reward he needs to keep him working and following the scent of one of our smartest, funniest, most amazing and, sadly, very rare native birds.
Ajax probably knows more about kea than most people do. One thing’s for sure – he certainly knows what they smell like. And that’s without him coming face to face with the birds very often. Mostly, he just scents their nests or their general locations before letting me know where they are.
Once I’ve given him plenty of praise, he has no further interest in the birds and will just wander off to the nearest piece of dry ground, preferably in the shade of a tree on a hot day. He knows that I’m going to be a while, so he’ll make the most of the opportunity to have a bit of a snooze.
Ajax probably knows more about kea than most people do. One thing’s for sure – he certainly knows what they smell like. And that’s without him coming face to face with the birds very often.