The Australian Reptile Park has unveiled its latest-new exhibit, housing the world’s most unique reptile – the Tuatara.
In August last year, three female Tuatara, considered living dinosaurs, arrived in Australia from Chester Zoo in the United Kingdom.
One of the reptiles was sent to Taronga Zoo, with the other two now calling the Reptile Park home.
The new display, located in the Park’s famous themed exhibit, Lost World of Reptiles, was officially opened on July 7 by Member for Gosford Liesl Tesch.
The stunning display features a pouwhenua, an ornate carved wooden pole representing the cultural heritage of New Zealand.
Although the reptilian duo arrived from the UK, the Tuatara originate from a special island in New Zealand called Takapourewa.
They are both five-years-old and have the names Hinemoa and Arona which have significant Māori meanings: Hinemoa means the lady of the lake and Arona means colourful.
After going through a strict biosecurity process during their arrival at Sydney Airport in August, 2022, the Tuatara made the trip up the M1 to the Australian Reptile Park where they headed straight into a purpose-built quarantine facility.
As Tuatara are from New Zealand, they require a cold climate of 16-17°C to ensure they are healthy and happy.
Since their arrival, they have been kept in a coolroom, and have now transitioned to their new exhibit, specially built to maintain this cooler environment.
Operations Manager Bill Collett said there was much excitement over the reptiles’ arrival.
“Our team had been waiting seven years to welcome this beautiful species to the Park,” he said.
“Now, we get to share these critters with visitors, who get to witness how unique and special they are.
“It is incredible to think that these animals have the potential to be here at the Australian Reptile Park for the next 100 years.
“They are one of the most long-lived reptiles on the face of the earth, so it’s mind-blowing to think that our visitors can now enjoy looking at these creatures well into the future.”
The Tuatara are the only surviving members of the order Sphenodontia.
This order was well represented by many species during the age of the dinosaurs, some 200 million years ago.
All species except the Tuatara declined and eventually became extinct about 60 million years ago.
Because of this, Tuatara are of huge international interest to biologists.
They are recognised internationally, and within New Zealand, as species in need of active conservation management with their biggest threat being the introduced rat.
Source:
Australian Reptile Park