Mica the Kiwi Dog Tracker

Today our Primary classes were privileged to have 'Mica' , her trainer Lynne, and two Department of Conservation Community Rangers visit them and tell them about the work Mica is doing as a Kiwi Dog Tracker. 

Mica tracks Kiwi, and is just starting to track Whio, blue ducks.  She sniffs out the Kiwi by smelling for their feet, feathers or poo.   She wears a muzzle when she is tracking so she does not harm the birds when she locates them.  Her main work is in our national parks, where dogs are not allowed.  Having said that, Mica wears a visibility jacket, which states she is a Kiwi tracking dog, so that if someone sees her in the National Park, they know she is allowed to be there.  One of my extra photos shows the jacket she wears.

My other extra photo shows a Kiwi egg.  It takes 5 days for a Kiwi egg to hatch and it's the father who sits on the egg for 78 to 85 days to keep it warm.  

It was a really interesting visit, and one I'm sure the children will be talking about for a while.