The four-legged "trainee rangers" are being up-skilled by Biodiversity Rangers Joe Carson and Raúl Johnson, to become certified conservation dogs.
Six-month-old Pip – a German shorthaired pointer-border collie cross – is in training to become a protected species detection dog specialising in whio/blue duck. If successful with her certification, she will assist Joe monitoring the endangered species on the rivers and streams of Taranaki Maunga.
Having a trained dog able to find the elusive whio makes life easier when monitoring the species, says Joe.
"Pip will use her incredible sense of smell to locate birds hiding in roosts and rocks, indicating them from a safe distance, which means the whio can remain comfortable in their environment," says Joe.
"Having Pip out on the river with us will make monitoring much more efficient, helping us to cover more ground and determine a more precise number of birds and nests.
