7 November 2014

Rehabilitated tuatara released at ZEALANDIA

An injured tuatara found outside ZEALANDIA’s fence by a local resident has been released back into the sanctuary, after spending 7 months being rehabilitated at Wellington Zoo’s The Nest Te Kōhanga.

A member of the community found the reptile outside ZEALANDIA’s pest-exclusion fence with serious injuries to its tail. She quickly alerted the ZEALANDIA conservation staff and the tuatara was taken to The Nest Te Kōhanga at Wellington Zoo. The Zoo’s team of veterinarians performed emergency surgery to amputate what was left of its badly injured tail.

The tuatara has spent 7 months recovering at Wellington Zoo – and his tail has even started to grow back!

“The tuatara’s pelvic fractures have healed and a course of antibiotics has eliminated the risk of infection. He has been slowly gaining weight and is very active and bright!” explained Wellington Zoo Veterinary Science Manager, Lisa Argilla.

“His tail has grown about one centimetre but this is likely to be a very long process, as tuatara do everything slowly – they grow slowly, breed slowly and have very slow metabolisms.”

The tuatara was recently transferred to an outdoor enclosure at Wellington Zoo, to allow it to acclimatise to current weather conditions in preparation for release back to ZEALANDIA.

Wellington Zoo and ZEALANDIA are lead partners in the Nature Connections project, which works to strengthen the links between Wellington's ecological assets.

“Thanks to the expert care of the team at Wellington Zoo, and within the safety of ZEALANDIA’s pest-exclusion fence, this tuatara now has a great chance of survival,” said ZEALANDIA Conservation Manager, Raewyn Empson.

"It's fantastic that our two organisations are able to work together for such positive outcomes for Wellington wildlife," added Amy Hughes, Wellington Zoo’s Acting Chief Executive.

“And it’s a happy coincidence that we’re able to celebrate this recovery and release during Conservation Week!”

The tuatara will be released back into ZEALANDIA on Friday morning at 11.15am.

ENDS

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