Flash fascinates young audience

Cousins Toby and Ethan Pepper, both 4, have a close a encounter with Flash the tuatara at Kiwi North in Whangarei. Photo / John Stone

Getting 40 young children to sit still and keep quiet on a rainy day is no easy feat, but Flash the tuatara was up for the challenge.

The children gathered at Kiwi North yesterday for the close encounter with Flash, plus the opportunity to spot the new pair of baby kiwi.

Husbandry team leader Kevin Saxton held five-year-old Flash, while the children asked questions and observed it trying to make a run for it.

"Really it was to give people a close encounter with the dinosaur kind, if you like," Mr Saxton said.

Two weeks ago, Kiwi North welcomed two new baby kiwi to the family- six-month-old female Puna and four-month-old male Kapua.

While Puna is adjusting the fastest, appearing increasingly more often, Kapua is taking a little longer.

Manager Allie Fry said the tuatara encounter was about people seeing an animal they may not have otherwise.

Kiwi North was working to get another tuatara after the second was found dead in the enclosure in May. The new kiwi were acquired after one of the previous pair, Kakari, had to be put down in April.