In-sync: Tuatara at Nga Manu Nature Reserve after a wash.
In-sync: Tuatara at Nga Manu Nature Reserve after a wash.
In a dark narrow earth tunnel, a piece of wire with a softened taped edge probes its way from side to side.
Inside the tunnel is a young tuatara, on high alert, watching the foreign object inch closer.
Seizing its opportunity, the tuatara lets out a croak and makes itsbid for freedom, only to be grasped by a giant spider-like creature.
The creature is in fact a human hand who gently places the reptile in a plastic bucket.
After a health check the tuatara is now ready to leave the Nga Manu Nature Reserve, in Waikanae, north of Wellington, where it has spent its formative years, and embark on an exciting new adventure.
All good: A tuatara at Nga Manu Nature Reserve gets a health check.
About 20 tuatara who had been living at the reserve, as part of a head-start programme between Victoria University and the reserve, are on their way to an undisclosed offshore island in New Zealand where they will fend for themselves in the wild and continue to increase the species population.
The head-start programme has been operating for over 30 years, but came to an end today when the last group was rounded up.
"It's the end of an era with the last group going out into the wild to establish an insurance population of the species," reserve supervisor Rhys Mills said.
Many groups of tuatara had been raised at the reserve over the years.
"At one point we had close to 450 tuatara which had all been raised, off display, as part of this programme.
"It has been a massive undertaking for us.
"We generally hold them for five to seven years before they are released."
Mr Mills said the programme had come to an end because there were a lot of new tuatara populations around New Zealand now, partly as a result of the head-start project, and other projects around the country.
"There's not really the need to continue the programme at this point but certainly there is potentially an opportunity in the future to get back involved if we need to assist the species further."
Victoria University school of biological sciences technical officer Sue Keall said the head-start programme had been a "great collaboration" between the university and the reserve.
"We've each had different roles in the programme and it has enabled young tuatara to be grown into a nice healthy state to be reintroduced back into the wild."
Representatives from Ngati Koata were present at the reserve today for the tuatara transfer.
