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    Home»Heritage»Meet Nui, the little dog with the big job — keeping World Heritage-listed Macquarie Island pest free
    Heritage

    Meet Nui, the little dog with the big job — keeping World Heritage-listed Macquarie Island pest free

    info@lechienrevue.comBy info@lechienrevue.comAugust 3, 2025No Comments3 Mins Read
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    Nui may only be four-and-a-half years old but the fox terrier cross has a vital job.

    Key points:

    World Heritage-listed Macquarie Island has been free of pests since 2014A fox terrier cross is now tasked with protecting the islands biosecurityMacquarie Island is 1,500 kilometres south-east of Tasmania in the sub-Antarctic.

    He’s all that stands between the fragile bird-and-seal breeding grounds of sub-Antarctic Macquarie Island and the rodents and rabbits that once overran it.

    “Nui is a great little dog,” said Nui’s handler, Biosecurity Tasmania’s Dr Sue Robinson.

    He inspects cargo containers destined for the Antarctic stations and World Heritage-listed Macquarie Island, hunting for the faintest whiff of rats and mice.

    “We also go all through the ships and check for any hint of rodents before the crew sail,” Dr Robinson said.

    “He’s very enthusiastic about his work and every day he’s there, ready to go and check all the cargo that comes in.”

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    Nui at work checking cargo (Supplied: Tasmania Parks and Wildlife Service)

    Such are Nui’s skills that he’s also been called on by other states, helping remove rats from Lord Howe Island last year and in 2018 assisting with rat eradication on Big Green Island in Bass Strait.

    “He’s very well trained. We do exercises every day so he can find the target scents to make sure he’s switched on,” Dr Robinson said.

    “Nui is the only dog doing this work at the moment.

    “There is another dog that does similar work but he’s not quite so suitable for voyage because he gets seasick, so Nui does better on the ship.”

    Ridding Macquarie Island of pests

    Nui arriving at Macquarie Island

    Nui and team arriving at Macquarie Island. (Supplied: Tasmania Parks and Wildlife Service)

    Macquarie Island is about 1,500 kilometres south-east of Tasmania.

    Its significant bird-and-seal breeding grounds were almost wiped out early this century by a devastating influx of rats, mice and rabbits that raided nests and stripped vegetation.

    “The really small seabirds would have had their eggs taken by rats or mice every year,”

    Dr Robinson said.

    “It’s the only sub-Antarctic Island in the Pacific sector of the Southern Ocean, so it’s quite unique and [because] there’s not a lot of islands anywhere nearby, all the marine animals that need to breed on land all come to that one spot.”

    “All the sea birds need to lay their eggs on land, the seals need to have their pups on land.”

    In 2007, the Australian and Tasmanian governments jointly funded a $25 million project to eradicate pests from the 13,000-hectare island.

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    An extensive baiting program was undertaken before hunters and their dogs were brought in to eradicate any surviving pests.

    In 2014, the island was declared pest free and has remained so, with the help of Nui and Dr Robinson.

    Dr Robinson said the World Heritage Area was slowly coming back to life.

    “The wildlife now are just turning up all over the island to breed. It’s amazing to see,”

    she said.

    “The plants, too, can now return to how they used to be. It just looks amazing after these eradication programs.”

    Dr Robinson said she was hopeful it would remain pest free.

    “It’s not impossible that rodents can sneak into cargo, which is why dogs like Nui are used to keep the island rodent free,” she said.

    “We have a multi-step process to ensure nothing gets in and the more layers you have just bring the possibility of something slipping through as close to zero as possible.”

    Big dog Free Heritagelisted Island job Keeping Macquarie Meet Nui Pest World
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