Bay dog called up for duty

Te Puke dog Tia is making a trip over the Kaimai Ranges today as her expertise is required by Environment Waikato.

The six-year-old German short-hair pointer is an expert at detecting wild dama wallabies, a pest that has been spotted outside its normal feral zone recently.


Six-year-old Tia puts her nose to work in the Waikato today looking for a wild dama wallaby.

Wildlife Contractors trainer Guss Knopers says Tia is specifically trained to detect the dama wallaby.

'She's a pure indicator dog. She is not allowed to chase, catch or kill.”

Guss says they will put a muzzle on Tia if she is in an area where there are native birds.

'But, she is bird aversion trained. She does not chase any chooks, ducks, kiwis – anything.

'She is purely focused on wallabies.”

Wildlife Contractors have about 20 dogs at Te Puke being trained for use by government departments.

Tia will travel over to work for the Waikato regional council today for the second time after a recent sighting of a wallaby.

There have been several sightings, including at French Pass (Whitehall), on the outskirts of Morrinsville, and at Puketaha on the outskirts of Hamilton.

Normally, the creatures are found in a feral zone in a part of the Rotorua district that is in Environment Waikato's area, and eastwards of there.

The largest Waikato population of dama wallaby is at Tumunui, with smaller populations at Ngakuru and Waikite.

EW retrieved a dead dama wallaby from the Te Pahu area last year.

EW biosecurity officer Dave Byers says that while there were only a few sightings, the council was concerned about wild wallabies spreading in the region as they are a designated pest which feeds on pasture and native vegetation.

'When present in high numbers they can cause considerable damage to native species, altering the present and future composition of native forests.”
Dama wallabies were first introduced to New Zealand on Kawau Island in the 1870s and around the southern end of Lake Okareka near Rotorua in 1912. They soon extended their range to the north and east of Lake Okareka, and were first recorded in the Waikato region during the 1950s.
The animals are up to half a metre tall when standing and weigh 5-7kg. They are usually nocturnal but are sometimes seen late in the afternoon. Dama wallabies prefer forest margin, or ‘edge' habitats where they can find cover during the day and graze at night.

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