Media Release
30 July 2012

Tuatara Hatchlings Mark 100 Years of Conservation

Three brand new Tuatara made their way into the world this weekend after being incubated for seven months at The Roost Te Pae Manu.

Barbara Blanchard, the studbook and species coordinator for Tuatara worldwide, and Animal Registrar at Wellington Zoo, is thrilled with the news.

“Having hatchlings at the Zoo is a great contribution to the national breeding programme,” said Blanchard. “Both parents have wild origins, so these hatchlings have good genetic diversity and are fantastic news for the Tuatara recovery plan.”

Wellington Zoo called for greater protection of Tuatara and Kiwi one hundred years ago, as discovered in an article published in The Northern Advocate on August 10, 1912.

“We’re proud to have been leading the way with conservation for over one hundred years,” said Chief Executive, Karen Fifield. “The arrival of these hatchlings coincides perfectly with our celebration of our native species conservation history.”

While the three have all hatched successfully, their sex will be undetermined for years to come.

“It’s hard to determine if they are male or female yet, as their sex organs are difficult to see until they are several years older,” said Amanda Tiffin, Life Science Manager.

“The sex of Tuatara is determined by the temperature they are kept at during incubation,” said Tiffin. “Eggs incubated at 22 degrees Celsius will be male, and eggs incubated between 18 and 20 degrees will be female.”

“We are fairly sure that these will all be female Tuatara, as they were incubated at 20 degrees,” Tiffin explained. “We’ll be able to determine their sex by using probes when they are older; so we will just wait to see.”

The newborns are not on display, but visitors have the opportunity to see Tuatara up close at the Twilight Te Ao Māhina at Wellington Zoo.

Link to article: http://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/paperspast?a=d&d=NA19120810.2.8&cl=CL2.1912.08.10&e=-------10--1----0--

Wellington Zoo is a charitable trust principally funded by the Wellington City Council

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