Meet Yagi, a kiwi conservation dog

Yagi’s nose helps the team find signs of kiwi that people can easily miss.

Yagi is a Labrador, German shorthaired pointer and cattle dog cross based in the Far North with her handler. She is relaxed away from work, highly food-motivated and very different once her conservation-dog harness comes out.

She is certified to locate kiwi as part of New Zealand’s Conservation Dogs Programme.

A kiwi search is deliberately quiet. When Yagi picks up scent she slows down and works out where the bird is sheltering. She can indicate from several metres away, allowing her handler to read her behaviour without pushing into the roost or disturbing the kiwi.

Searches are generally carried out during the day, when kiwi are resting. The aim is to gather the information needed while leaving the bird settled.

Yagi’s nose can support several kinds of practical kiwi work:

• checking forestry or vegetation-clearance sites before machinery begins;
• locating kiwi, nests, feathers and other signs for monitoring;
• finding birds when a transmitter has failed or a location is uncertain;
• helping with carefully managed translocations; and
• locating an injured kiwi that may need specialist treatment.

Her response also gives the handler information about how close the bird is and where it may be sheltering—details that are easy for people to miss.

Certification is not a one-off test. Training and assessment continue throughout a conservation dog’s working life. Yagi must demonstrate that she is reliable, responsive to her handler and safe around protected wildlife.

When working she wears high-visibility conservation equipment and a muzzle, and remains under close control. This specialist role is different from kiwi avoidance training for pet or working dogs; avoidance training can help with responsible management, but it does not make a dog “kiwi-proof”.

Further reading: DOC Conservation Dogs Programme.