Tuatara to be released on Little Barrier Island

10/08/2007 00:00:00 November 2006. Sixty tuatara are to roam free on Little Barrier Island for the first time in more than 10 years.

Until now the tuatara have lived in captivity on Little Barrier to protect them from Pacific rats, but a successful rat eradication programme by the NZ Department of Conservation (DOC) has enabled their return to the wild. ‘The release of tuatara is a major achievement in the ecological restoration of New Zealand’s premier nature reserve,’ said Conservation Minister Chris Carter.

‘Thanks to a huge effort by DOC, the supporters of Little Barrier Island, and a substantial investment by the Labour-Progressive government, the island is now poised to revert to the type of place it was before the arrival of humans, dense with native species such as birds, tuatara, lizards and insects.

‘Several of the species living on the island have already started to show signs of recovery since kiore were eradicated, and I eagerly await seeing tuatara flourish as well,’ Mr Carter said.
Tuatara are vulnerable to predators as they are slow breeders. In the early 1990s, DOC began a captive management programme for tuatara on the island, 8 tuatara were taken into captivity and have since bred over 100 tuatara.

The tuatara released today are between 8 and 12 years old and are a mix of male and female. It is hoped they will naturally repopulate the island.