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Gecko Enclosure Update

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The moko kākariki (Wellington green geckos/barking geckos) are on the move!  

The geckos came to us originally as part of a 'breed for release programme', and have thrilled many visitors to ZEALANDIA, in their nursery enclosures on the Round Lawn.  

Citizen Scientists help nurse Kaiwharawhara Stream back to health

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Wellington’s Kaiwharawhara Stream might be polluted now, but citizen scientists are helping restore it to health.  

In a recent survey of the stream’s estuary by Sustainable Coastlines, 2400 pieces of mostly plastic rubbish, were collected and analysed by volunteers. Coastal clean-ups, such as those coordinated by Sustainable Coastlines, have inspired the Kaiwharawhara Catchment Plastics Project, led by Dr Amanda Valois of NIWA. 

Native fish ‘hidden treasures’ in the Kaiwharawhara Stream

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Our native fish are among the hidden treasures of New Zealand’s animal life because they are seldom seen. Yet the Kaiwharawhara Stream catchment is known to have 13 species of fish out of the 21 in the Wellington Region. 

‘Sanctuary to Sea/Kia Mouriora te Kaiwharawhara’, a multi-stakeholder restoration project co-ordinated by ZEALANDIA staff, aims to improve fish habitats throughout this important catchment. Beginning within the ZEALANDIA sanctuary, the catchment is the largest in Wellington city, covering over 16 square kilometres.  

A Future in Conservation

An interview with former ZEALANDIA Youth Ambassador, Elizabeth Werner

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Through the ZEALANDIA youth ambassador programme, young people in Wellington were given the opportunity to contribute to conservation with support from the ecosanctuary. Elizabeth Werner is 18 years old and from Tawa. She is passionate about science communication and loves to creatively express the issues facing the environment through public speaking, art, and dance. 

ZEALANDIA Takahē Chick Named

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The male five-month old takahē chick at ZEALANDIA, has been named. 

The chick has been given the name Te Āwhiorangi which means ‘the encircler of heaven’. It references a sacred pounamu adze (cutting tool) that is said to be used by the atua (god) Tāne to cut the sinews that bound Ranginui (the sky father) and Papatūānuku (the earth mother). 
 
The name has been agreed by ZEALANDIA, Taranaki Whānui te Upoko o te Ika and the Department of Conservation's Takahē Recovery Programme.

1000th hihi hatched at ZEALANDIA

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Hihi were first introduced into Zealandia in 2005 with 60 birds translocated from Tiri Tiri Matangi Island. Since then they have bred successfully every year and this week the 1000th hihi hatched at Zealandia was issued with its unique combination of coloured leg bands.

Meet our Newest Arrivals

Kākahi / Freshwater Mussels

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You may not see very much of the newest arrivals in the valley, but they are being carefully monitored all the same.

Two hundred kākahi (New Zealand freshwater mussels) have just been translocated from Wairarapa Moana and the Parangarahu lakes to the Upper Lake with the help of iwi partners, Taranaki Whānui, Ngāti Kahungunu, and Rangitāne o Wairarapa. Two different kākahi  species were included in the translocation: Echyridella menziesi and Echyridella aucklandica.

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