He's a New Zealander, he's cute - and he's worth $2500 in New York

By EUGENE BINGHAM

From the wilds of Stewart Island to a trendy New York apartment, it's tough being a gecko.

New Zealand geckos are hot property on the world reptile market - smuggled out of the country to be sold to collectors and city-dwellers craving weird pets.

A New York collector who specialises in rare geckos told the Weekend Herald a pair would fetch about $US2000 ($4780), depending on the species.

"Rare or unobtainable specimens are prized by US collectors," said Keith S. MacClugage, proprietor of Earth's Exotics.

"We tend to look at the rarer species as an opportunity to expand on our knowledge of herpetoculture, not to mention the monetary gain of breeding success."

European syndicates come here to hunt for rare lizards to sell them in the cities of Europe, Japan and the United States, where they are keenly sought by apartment dwellers because they are small and easy to look after.

Exporting native reptiles from New Zealand is illegal, but geckos are not covered by the international agreement on trade in endangered species.

Once smuggled out, they can be legitimately bought and sold.

Wildlife authorities believe dozens of geckos may have illegally left New Zealand shores.

The Auckland-based Wildlife Enforcement Group - made up of Customs, Department of Conservation and Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry representatives - said the trade might have started with hobbyists.

"But, inevitably, you will attract a commercial interest from people who really don't have an interest whatsoever in the viability of the species," said the DoC officer in the group, Peter Younger. "By design or accident, a market is created."

The 16 New Zealand species of gecko, including the green Naultinus and the Duvaucel, are popular because of their unusual features, including that they give birth to live young rather than laying eggs.

Another Wildlife Enforcement Group officer said investigations into the gecko trade began after the group helped to catch people using New Zealand as a transit point to smuggle New Caledonian geckos.

In January, a German tourist was fined $12,000 after being caught at Auckland Airport with two green geckos hidden in his underpants.

While only two geckos had been intercepted, others turned up on Europe around the same time, suggesting other couriers had escaped.

Smugglers either body-pack or post the geckos, which survive by shutting down their metabolism.

There is no suggestion New Zealanders are involved.