Mosen - Ajax the kea dog: a working dogs life in the high country

INTRODUCTION

AJAX THE KEA DOG

Me and Ajax in Kahurangi National Park.

A soft, low light wakes me. I take a moment to work out where I am. The rowdy chorus of birds tells me that its early morning and Im in my tent above the bushline in the Kahurangi National Park. As the pink blaze of sunrise slowly filters inside, I wriggle out of my sleeping bag and open the zip at the front of my tent.

Lying there in the vestibule is my trusty companion and workmate, Ajax. At home, hes not a big fan of mornings, and when were out in the bush hes not that different. He looks at me without moving and I can tell hes thinking, just a few minutes more... But weve got work to do.

I reach over and open the front of the vestibule, and give Ajax a nudge until he gets up and grudgingly goes outside. He sits and waits patiently while I get dressed and pull on my boots. Once Im out and have the billy boiling for my coffee, its breakfast time for Ajax.

Hes happy to have just a couple of handfuls of biscuits, but on special occasions hell opt for a feed of fresh goat to start the day. I cant say it would be my favourite choice of breakfast, but Ajax loves it. In fact, he loves it so much that sometimes hell hide the leftovers from the previous nights goat dinner and wander off to find them in the morning so he can have them for breakfast. On those days, Im usually relieved if its been a bit cool overnight and the meat has been kept chilled by Mother Nature. After a warm night, Ajaxs favourite breakfast can be pretty stinky.

While Ajax is distracted by his breakfast, Ill have my coffee while I watch the sky brighten, the coming day revealing a bush-clad valley below us through which a wild river runs. From there I scan across to the high plateau on the other side of the valley. Our goal for today is to head down into the valley, through the river, up the hill, across the plateau and down the other side in search of kea nests. As workplaces go, this one has a pretty good view.

Breakfast finished, I pack the tent down and prepare to get moving for the day. Now hes eaten, Ajax is wide awake and excited to get going. Once Ive got my gear sorted out, Ajax gets his hi-vis coat and his muzzle on and were ready to roll.

We set off down the mountain and into the dappled light of the moss-laden beech forest. Ajax happily follows me as I make my way among the trees, heading for a spot where I know there are likely to be kea nests. Actually, I say that Ajax follows me, but at the start of the day hes usually so excited that hell take off ahead of me, and hell have to keep either doubling back or turning around to make sure hes going the right way! That lasts until about lunchtime, after which he slows down a bit; then hell be just behind me for the rest of the day.

As were walking, Ajax is always scoping out whats happening around us, having a good sniff here and there to make sure hes not missing anything. If he does find a smell that hes interested in, hell head off in the direction of whatever hes found. He never does this without making sure that I know where hes going, though, and that Im following him. When hes on the scent of something he has some pretty classic pointing behaviours, and I know him so well I know exactly what hes trying to tell me.

If its a kea nest, hell sit down in front of it and wait until I get there. One of the key ways I can tell that he knows hes found what Im after is that he looks really chuffed with himself. He absolutely loves working, and is never happier than when hes found an active or recently used nest. Even after years of tracking these birds, he still gets a real kick when he actually finds them.