Holly is a Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever specialising in sniffing out New Zealand native frogs. She started her frog detection training in 2019 and is only one of a few dogs in the entire world to learn how to find frogs by scent! The other frog dogs work overseas as a part of the Amphibian Research K9 team in the United States and at Zoos Victoria in Melbourne.

After going on a trip with DOC to Fiordland, the late Emeritus Professor Phil Bishop was convinced that native frogs may still exist there. Perhaps the “extinct” Aurora frog was actually hiding in remote regions of Fiordland, and a dog like Holly might one day re-discover. 

Holly was trained using the native frogs at the University of Otago, Zoology Department. Debbie is hugely grateful for this because COVID-19 and subsequent cyclones and flooding in the North Island of New Zealand could have easily derailed Holly’s progress. Holly was a quick learner and, with the help of a MSc student Tegan Murrell, Debbie began to challenge Holly’s detection skills by introducing new scents like leaf litter, worms and feathers.

Holly worked incredibly hard with her trainer Debbie Bishop and graduated from the Department of Conservation’s Conservation Dogs Programme. Here on Holly’s Frog Dog Page we hope to post updates on Holly’s adventures helping in frog conservation and other activities. Check back here soon to see what Holly has gotten up to with Debbie. 

You can read more about the Air New Zealand and Department of Conservation – Conservation Dogs Programme here 

Many thanks, appreciation and gratitude to people and organisations who have contributed to making this a reality.

• University of Otago – Zoology Department
• Department of Conservation’s Conservation Dogs Programme
• Mahakirau Forest Estate
• Auckland Zoo
• Hamilton Zoo
• Phoenix SPB Ltd

Holly’s Latest Adventures

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Holly’s Timeline