K9 Magpie

CSIwild has deployed its latest canine unit – K9 Magpie, a turtle nest detection dog.

Every year, nesting turtles return to the beaches where they were born and come ashore to excavate chambers in the sand for their eggs, then carefully cover and camouflage them. Hard to find by humans, the nests are easily located by specially trained detection dogs, even when the eggs are buried deep, and the sand is heavily disturbed. The locations and details of these nests are then recorded in monitoring programs and databases to track nesting activity, measure hatching success, and sometimes to remove the eggs to hatcheries, where incubation temperature can be controlled to manipulate hatchling sex ratios. All this data feeds into long-term conservation planning and population models to help protect endangered sea turtles.

Our marvelous project started life at the 2024 Lowell Thomas Awards in Austin, Texas, where I met Wendy Knight, CEO of Sea Turtle Inc (STI). During our conversation, I told her how my nonprofit, CSIwild, trains elite canine units to protect endangered species around the world, including my plan to develop a turtle nest detection dog for deployment in Mexico. Wendy loved the concept and immediately asked if CSIwild could train one for her organization. I agreed without hesitation.

The first step was to raise the required funds, which Wendy herself achieved, through a generous donation from Texas-based Tito‘s Vodka. There followed many excited Zoom calls between me and the Sea Turtle Inc. team – Wendy, Chief Conservation Officer, Dr. Amy Bonka, and K9 handler-to-be Lindsey Czopek.

Next came finding the right dog, specifically a rescue. After evaluating numerous candidates over two months, CSIwild’s U.S. trainer, Pepe Peruyero, discovered the ideal match at Satchel’s Last Resort Rescue in Florida — a 10-month-old black Labrador mix, later named Magpie by STI. She was everything we needed: outstanding scent ability, high work drive, moderate size, short coat for hot climates, and a friendly, outgoing nature, essential for interactions with the public. In addition, she was irresistibly cute.

Although CSIwild’s main base is in South Africa, we also collaborate with trainers in India and the U.S. Pepe, one of the most respected detection dog experts worldwide, has 30 years of experience in specialized scent training. His passion lies in giving rescue dogs a new purpose through work like this — and he is among the very few who have successfully trained a turtle nest detection dog before.

Maggie, as the puppy was soon to be nicknamed, was quite a challenge in the beginning, apparently under-socialized and untrained. Pepe brought her home, gave her time to settle into her new surroundings, then began her training. She was taught basic social and obedience skills before moving on to imprinting on cloacal mucus from nesting Kemp’s Ridley turtles. They began in Pepe‘s garden, then expanded to public areas, and finally to Florida’s beaches. She was also exposed to an array of different environments, sounds, smells, and animals, and people, to prepare her for field work.

Maggie was a fast learner, surpassing all our expectations. She quickly mastered the ability to indicate a Q-tip coated in turtle mucus on a large beach, in challenging conditions – decomposing seaweed, polluted sand, human activity and bird distractions. A testament to both the canine’s skills and to Pepe’s exceptional expertise.

When the Magpie’s training was complete, Lindsey traveled to Florida, where she bonded with the dog and where Pepe trained her to become Magpie’s new handler. Lindsey then drove her new partner to South Padre Island, Texas. Flying was not an option, given the stress this would have inflicted on the young, sensitive Maggie at such a critical time.

K9 Magpie was given a couple of weeks to settle into her new home at STI and to start testing her skills – happily, the turtle nesting season came relatively early this year. At the end of April, Pepe joined Lindsey and Magpie in Texas to monitor progress and fine-tune their teamwork to suit their new home environment.

It is always bittersweet for everyone at CSIwild when we deploy one of our dogs. Yet it is also exciting and deeply satisfying to know the vital role that the dog will play in protecting endangered species.

We wish K9 Magpie and Lindsey, and the entire Sea Turtle Inc. team, every success with their newest member. Pepe and I remain available to support them at all times, and we are certain Maggie will be a cherished and valuable part of her new family.

Vianna von Weyhausen
Director, CSIwild 5th April 2026