Tuatara's death deals further blow

The remaining tuatara had been checked and appeared to be in good condition. Photo / File

Kiwi North has farewelled one of its tuatara this week, a further blow after the death of a female kiwi last month.

Manager Allie Fry said the tuatara was found dead in its enclosure at the Kiwi House in Whangarei on Monday morning.

Specialist test results would determine the cause of death, which was unknown.

In April, a female kiwi, Kakari, had to be put down after a bird form of an ectopic pregnancy, Ms Fry said.

The autopsy showed she had internal problems, which meant she never would have survived the incident.

"Although our resident animals are definitely not pets, they are part of the Kiwi North family," she said. "All of the staff are sad and upset to lose them in this way."

The male kiwi, Nouveau, will continue to be on display at Kiwi House until a new pair of birds are found. Then he will move to a breeding facility to be paired with captive-bred female.

Planning is under way to find a pair of juvenile captive-bred birds.

In the meantime, Nouveau was happy and busy as usual, Ms Fry said. They had put more processes into action to ensure he remained that way even without his mate.

The remaining tuatara had been checked and appeared to be in good condition.