New Zealand's Living Dinosaur Numbers Treble
19 Oct 2007
New Zealand's iconic 'living dinosaurs' have just had their numbers trebled on the country's mainland thanks to a successful conservation programme.
Around 130 tuatara have just been released at Karori Sanctuary as part of the second stage in re-establishing a mainland population. They've been handed over by their kaitiaki (guardians) Ngati Koata and welcomed by local iwi Te Atiawa.
In December 2005 Wellington’s Karori Sanctuary made conservation history when it became home to 70 tuatara - returning to the wild on mainland New Zealand for the first time in over 200 years. Two years later, the transferred animals are thriving and have already been observed mating.
It is hoped that this second transfer will help to maximise breeding potential and reduce the risk of animals becoming isolated as the original population disperses throughout the Sanctuary.
"The first transfer was more successful than we ever could have hoped it to be" said Sanctuary conservation scientist Raewyn Empson.
"The survival rate has been at least 80 per cent and is probably far higher. The fact that some of our original 70 tuatara were mating within 18 months of transfer is a sure sign that they are adapting well to their new environment. I hope the newcomers will settle in just as well."
The transfers are part of the Department of Conservation’s tuatara recovery programme which, with experiences gained from the Sanctuary releases, will eventually see other mainland populations re-established.
Karori Sanctuary is still the only place on mainland New Zealand where people can see these remarkable reptiles in the wild, and they are a massive hit with the visitors. Although tuatara are most active at night, as the weather becomes warmer they will become increasingly visible during the daytime, sunbathing by the side of tracks.
With no major mammalian predators, Karori Sanctuary is a unique safe haven for some of our rarest birds, reptiles and insects. Less than 2km from the Beehive, it is also the most accessible project of its kind in the world and is reckoned to be the most wildlife-diverse square mile of land on mainland New Zealand.
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