Big job tracking little blue
Little blue penguin detection dog Mena and her handler, Alastair Judkins, of the Kaiko¯ ura Ocean Research Institute, have so far found about 125 korora¯ sites in Golden Bay.
‘‘And counting,’’ Judkins said on Thursday.
The pair were brought to the Bay by the Mohua Blue Penguin Trust to survey the population of korora¯ from Wainui to Pu¯ ponga Point. As of Thursday, they were about two-thirds of the way through the planned three-week job.
Trustee Cynthia McConville said the survey was designed to provide baseline information on the population of little blue penguins in the Bay. It was hoped the survey could be repeated annually to provide accurate information about the birds, which are the world’s smallest penguins, weighing in at around 1kg and standing about 30cm tall.
The Department of Conservation website says little penguins or korora¯ are ‘‘at riskdeclining’’.
As well as finding korora¯ sites, Judkins and Mena have been visiting schools in Golden Bay. On Thursday, the pair were at Takaka Primary School where the children watched Mena find hidden penguin-nesting material and complete obedience tasks before they gave her multiple belly rubs and pats.
Judkins told the pupils that Mena, a Hungarian vizsla, was needed to locate little blue penguins because they were hard to find. They might dig burrows, go into caves or tuck themselves away under flax bushes or rocks.
The penguins could be at risk from predators such as dogs, cats and stoats.
‘‘If we know where they live, we can better protect them,’’ Judkins said.
Nest boxes could help protect the flightless birds.
‘‘If they’re crossing the road to find a nice place, we can put this [a nest box] on the other side of the road, next to the ocean, so they don’t have to cross the road,’’ Judkins said.
After the children returned to class, Judkins said there was one other little blue penguin detection dog in the North Island. Mena was 7 years old. The pair had been through Department of Conservation training and had been working as a team with penguins for five years. Judkins’ work with penguins pre-dated that.
Mena pointed or sat when she sniffed out a penguin site. Judkins then tried to confirm if a bird was present and identify if it was an adult or juvenile and whether there were eggs in the nest. Sometimes, it might be too difficult to see the birds, if they were deep in a cave for instance. In such cases, Judkins noted what he could see including whether there was a ‘‘strong dog indication’’ and the presence of penguin tracks or faeces.
‘‘I’ve learnt to trust the dog,’’ Judkins said.
‘‘If we know where they live, we can better protect them.’’
Alastair Judkins