ZIP Field Ranger Chelsea, and Rat Detection Dog Baxter’s job is to find rats that have either survived a predator elimination operation, or that have reinvaded an area that was previously predator free. They usually spend their days trying to find rats within the footprint of the Predator Free South Westland project. They got more than they bargained for earlier this year though, when they left the West Coast and ventured off shore to help with a rat invasion.
Chelsea and Baxter (taken before their adventure abroad)
Lord Howe Island is some 600km off the coast of New South Wales, and is home to many unique and special species. The island had been rodent free for 16 months. So, when a rat incursion occurred, Chelsea and Baxter, along with another team from the NZ Conservation Dog Programme, headed over to help.
The settlement area of Lord Howe Island
Due to the Delta outbreak, getting home was much more complicated than getting over to Lord Howe. What was supposed to be a short stint turned out to be a lot longer. While a tropical island is not a bad place to be stranded, they were keen to get back to Aotearoa. Their return home was further complicated by having to leave the dogs behind, and wait to be reunited once the dogs had passed a health check. You can read more about their mahi on the island and their mission to get home in this Stuff article.
Aside from the hitches in getting back and being separated from loved ones, Chelsea said that it was a great experience overall. She enjoyed being part of a squad of dog teams, and the different setting gave her valuable insight into their work back home – the challenging but rewarding task of detecting the last few rats in South Westland terrain.
One of Chelsea’s key observations was it seemed easier to pick up on the rats on Lord Howe Island. She puts this down to the rats being used to living around humans, and making their nests on the ground where Baxter could find them more readily. The warm weather also preserved scent for longer, compared to the wet West Coast.
Chelsea and Baxter detecting rats on Lord Howe Island
Having the experience of working in a residential setting (most of the Lord Howe Island work was within the main settlement) was also really valuable for Chelsea and Baxter. ZIP has just begun predator elimination work in and around South Ōkārito, which includes some private land and settlements. Chelsea gained an insight into how important it is to engage with the community, and found the experience enriching, albeit challenging at times.
For Baxter, the highlights were endless. He got to have the excitement of regularly finding recent rat scent, and because his reward for finding rats is playing with his favourite ball, he was pretty chuffed to be searching around residential properties. Aside from the retrieval of rat carcasses, Baxter’s side hustle was retrieving lost tennis balls in backyards – his best tally was six in one day!