“ If you go out in [ZEALANDIA] today, you`re sure of a big surprise “, because there are no juvenile tuatara in their former glass nursery. Six juvenile tuatara were judged to have grown big enough to cope in the wild. They were also judged to be healthy, so were moved into the wild to protect them from a fungal disease primarily affecting tuatara in captivity.

Even though there’s a finite number of walks in ZEALANDIA, there’s an infinite number of ways to do them. You can mix and match the walks to suit your timeframe, energy level and fitness.

Upon learning that the titipounamu / rifleman population in the Wainuiomata source site (the Wainuiomata / Orongorongo Key Native Ecosystem area) considerably lower than previously thought and, as a consequence, we made the difficult decision to postpone the translocation into ZEALANDIA scheduled for March. 

Sheila Playford has been described as a ‘Giant Weta Woman’. Since 2011, she has carried out a weekly survey of ZEALANDIA’s Giant Weta population and her dedication recently won her a ZEALANDIA ‘kākā’ award for outstanding volunteer contributions.

Aged 13, George Hobson is one of ZEALANDIA’s youth ambassadors – a team of around ten young people who help with the work of the Education Team. George’s enthusiasm and dedication recently won him ZEALANDIA’s Tītipounamu Award for Future Leaders.

Picture a city where trees and plants coexist with buildings and streets, where a thick cover of ivy snaking up the side of a skyscraper is a deliberate choice rather than a happy accident, where you might pass a dozen exotic species of flower on the way to work, or happen upon some friendly wildlife on your way to buy milk. Imagine turning the sometimes lifeless architecture of an urban environment into a symbiotic relationship; a biophilic city.

Last week, it was announced that the planned translocation of 80 tītipounamu / rifleman into the sanctuary in March 2017, followed by another 80 into Otari-Wilton's Bush in 2018 had been postponed due to ZEALANDIA having just learned that population in the Wainuiomata source site (the Wainuiomata / Orongorongo Key Native Ecosystem area) are considerably lower than previously thought.

We asked Dr. Danielle Shanahan, ZEALANDIA’s Conservation Manager, for some background on the postponement and about the next steps in bringing these iconic species into the sanctuary.

Last week, veterinarian Rebecca Webster sampled 40 tuatara in ZEALANDIA as part of her research into a potentially deadly fungal disease.

Volunteer guide Chris Gee was awarded the Faye Schaef award at ZEALANDIA’s annual volunteer dinner and award night in December. Louise Slocombe met up with Chris to talk about the work he does at ZEALANDIA , which he describes as ‘skippering and guiding’. However, as the conversation progressed, she found out he does a huge range of other activities... 

As Wellington’s Zealandia celebrates its 21st birthday, sanctuary founder Jim Lynch reflects on what has been achieved and lessons learned along the way.