Baby tuatara born on Zealandia's wild side
20 Mar 2009
A baby tuatara discovered yesterday at a wildlife sanctuary is the first confirmed wild tuatara hatchling on New Zealand’s mainland in at least 200 years.
The baby boy tuatara, measuring 11cm and about a month old, was discovered yesterday by conservation staff at Zealandia: Karori Sanctuary Experience, in Wellington.
Conservation officer Bernard Smith found the hatchling in an area where nests had been discovered a few months ago. It is likely to have hatched from eggs laid about 16 months ago.
Known as New Zealand's living fossil, the tuatara is a reptile that's unique to New Zealand and survivor of a species that became extinct about 60 million years ago.
Significant discovery
"This is an extremely significant discovery," Zealandia conservation manager Raewyn Empson said.
"We knew our tuatara were laying eggs, but we didn't dare hope to find any young. Monitoring the nests 24/7 just wasn't practical. We certainly didn't expect to see them so soon and perhaps not until they were adults.
"We are all absolutely thrilled with this discovery. It means we have successfully re-established a breeding population back on the mainland, which is a massive breakthrough for New Zealand conservation. He is unlikely to be the only baby to have hatched this season, but seeing him was an incredible fluke."
Tough journey awaits
The tuatara was caught briefly for a photo session, then released back to the spot he was found in.
The youngster faces a tough journey to adulthood. He will have to avoid cannibalistic adult tuatara, and other New Zealand natives including birds like the morepork (native owl), kingfisher and weka (an endemic flightless rail) who would enjoy a tuatara dinner.
"Like all the wildlife living here, he'll just have to take his chances," said Ms Empson
"However, hatching within the safety of of mammal-proof fence has already given him a far better chance of survival than he would get outside our mammal-proof fence. Out there, the survival rate would be almost zero."
Background: Tuatara
Tuatara are the only surviving members of the order Sphenodontia and endemic to New Zealand. Every other species in this order became extinct about 60 million years ago, leading scientists to refer to tuatara as 'living fossils'.
It is uncertain exactly how long tuatara have been absent from mainland New Zealand but they were already rare by the late 1700s when the main predator was the kiore or Pacific rat.
The establishment of a population at the predator-free Karori Sanctuary in 2005 was a breakthrough in re-establishing this species in the wild on mainland New Zealand. It has also made the species a lot more visible to the public.
Some 70 animals were transferred to the Sanctuary in 2005 from Takapourewa / Stephens Island in the Marlborough Sounds, which lies on the tip of the South Island just south of Wellington. Another 130 animals were released in 2007.
Karori Sanctuary
Karori Sanctuary is acknowledged as one of Australasia's top 25 ecological restoration projects.
An inner city slice of native paradise within New Zealand's capital city, the Sanctuary is part of a 500-year vision to return this area of Wellington to its pre-human state.
The multi-million dollar project involves developing 252 hectares of native forest into a predator-free area behind state of the art predator-proof fences. Native flora and fauna have been reintroduced including rare New Zealand flightless birds the weka and kiwi.
The Sanctuary is a unique protected natural area for New Zealand's endangered wildlife. Over 35 kilometres of bush tracks and paths criss-cross regenerating forest, providing walks and other activities for all ages.
More information:
Living fossil breeds on New Zealand's mainland
Zealandia: Karori Sanctuary Experience
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