Two captive tuatara who have called Zealandia Te Māra a Tāne (Zealandia) home for the past decade have found a new home at Wellington Zoo.

Staff from Zealandia and Wellington Zoo, and representatives of Taranaki Whānui ki Te Upoko o Te Ika, Ngāti Toa Rangatira and Ngāti Koata, came together yesterday to move the sibling pair, Tāne and Tuahine.

Recently, two young kākā siblings were discovered in the sanctuary at Zealandia, all alone without a nest or parents around.

Tangoio Marae representatives from Napier visited Wellington recently to learn restoration skills from Te Papa and Pouhere Taonga/Heritage New Zealand experts.

Cyclone Gabrielle earlier in the year caused severe damage to their marae which included various prized art works.

The group visited the sanctuary and were gifted one head of kiekie to contribute to the materials needed for their restoration work.  

"Little is known about Aotearoa New Zealand’s freshwater sponges. To date, only one species has been studied, yet there is a high likelihood that many other exist without us knowing. For my master’s project, I am investigating the diversity of species within New Zealand."

Dive into the world of freshwater sponges with Ella, a passionate master's student from the University of Otago, New Zealand. 

Today our solid sanctuary biosecurity systems were put to the test, with an introduced weasel discovered dead in a trap within Zealandia’s fence. The good news is this shows that our well-honed systems are working. Read this blog to find out more. 

Conservation is complex work that rarely comes with a neatly packaged ‘How-To’ guide. This month alone we celebrated the arrival of a new pair of takahē to Zealandia while also trying to unpack a ‘whodunnit’ of epic proportions beneath the surface of our waters.

An eagle-eyed Zealandia volunteer spotted a pied shag making light work of a rather large pinky coloured fish in Roto Kawau, the lower reservoir.

We are super excited to announce the arrival of the newest pair of takahē to Zealandia Te Māra a Tāne! The new takahē are Waitaa (female, 3 years old) and Bendigo (male, 6 years old) who came from the Burwood Takahē Centre near Te Anau.

Zealandia Te Māra a Tāne are welcoming two new takahē (Bendigo and Waitaa) on 28 August 2023, bringing the Zealandia takahē population up to 4!

One of the big challenges in predator control is the balance between catching the critters that you’re aiming for, while excluding the species that you don’t want to catch.

The conservation team have been busy planting a variety of grasses and rushes on the wetland lawn as well as in the wetland itself – a fun but muddy task!