What's Happening

Wellington's wildlife sanctuary, Zealandia makes headlines around the world with the discovery of the first tuatara to hatch in the wild on mainland New Zealand in over 200 years!

The 11cm-long hatchling was discovered during routine maintenance work in the tuatara research area by Biosecurity Officer Bernard Smith. Even though the first nest was found late last year, they didn't dare hope to find any young. Monitoring the nests wasn't practical, and tuatara hatchlings usually emerge at night. They certainly didn't expect to see them so soon and probably not until they were adults. This is unlikely to be the only baby to have hatched this season, but seeing it was an incredible fluke. "It was the spitting image of the model hatchlings we have in our tuatara display" said Bernard. "There was no mistaking what it was" .

The youngster was caught briefly for a photo shoot and then released back in the spot he was found. He faces a tough journey to adulthood. Not only will he have to run the gauntlet of cannibalistic adult tuatara, he would also make a tasty snack for species like morepork; kingfisher and weka. However, hatching within the safety of the mammal-proof fence has already given him a far better chance of survival than he would get outside, where the survival rate would be almost zero. The discovery means Zealandia has successfully re-established a breeding population back on the mainland - a huge breakthrough for New Zealand conservation.

For more information on Zealandia, the Karori Sanctuary Experience in Wellington, please visit www.sancturary.org.nz