New Ōtorohanga home for 12 giant wētā to protect species

A group of 12 giant weta has been relocated from Mahoenui Scientific Reserve near Te Kuiti to Otorohanga Kiwi House. Photo / Jeff Neems, DoC

A group of rare and endangered Mahoenui giant wētā have found a new home at the Ōtorohanga Kiwi House.

Wētā are one of the largest insects in the world, reaching a size up to 7cm and a weight of around 15gm. Found in only four North Island locations, they are classified as "at risk – recovering" facing threats from introduced predators and fire.

The Department of Conservation (DoC), Mōkau ki Runga Regional Management Committee, and the Ōtorohanga Kiwi House have been working out a plan to protect the species and the translocation of 12 wētā from Mahoenui Scientific Reserve near Te Kuiti was only the start.

Over the next seven years, another 24 wētā are planned to be moved to the Kiwi house for captive breeding and rearing to maximise genetic diversity across the batches of wētā.

Department of Conservation senior ranger biodiversity Jon Sadler says: "The work undertaken this week is the latest in a series of translocations of Mahoenui giant wētā aimed at rebuilding the population of the ancient insects, which are essentially giant flightless crickets."

Ōtorohanga Kiwi House manager Jo Russell says the arrival of the wētā is an exciting development.

"We've constructed a purpose-built captive rearing facility for Mahoenui giant wētā. The design is based on previous successful enclosures and protocols for captive rearing of giant wētā species at the Wellington Zoo, Butterfly Creek and Auckland Zoo," she says.

While the Kiwi House is undergoing further developments, the wētā will be off display for now. "The wētā will be in a laboratory-style setting, and our plan for the future is to implement modern technology to give the public a glimpse of these amazing creatures as part of a back of house tour," Russell says.

Jon Sadler says: "The wētā live in gorse, so we had a team in the reserve searching the prickly plants for good healthy adult specimens."

Wētā are taonga (treasures) for Māori, so representatives from local hapū Mōkau ki Runga have supported the project and worked alongside DoC, Mōkau ki Runga Regional Management Committee and the Ōtorohanga Kiwi House on the collection.

The insects even received a pōwhiri from members of Ngāti Hine and other local hapū when moving into the Ōtorohanga Kiwi House.