The first confirmed tuatara nest on mainland New Zealand in over 200 years has been discovered at Wellington’s Karori Sanctuary.
Four eggs were seen in the nest, which was discovered during routine maintenance work near the sanctuary’s mammal-proof fence.
However, there were likely to be more eggs in the nest as the average clutch contained around 10, sanctuary conservation manager Raewyn Empson said.
The nest suggested that there were others in the sanctuary, Empson said.
The eggs were accidentally uncovered despite intentions to leave them undisturbed, and were immediately covered up again.
The tuatara, known as living fossils, could hatch between now and March.
It was unknown how long tuatara had been absent from mainland New Zealand, but they were rare — if not extinct — by the late 1700s, mainly because of egg predation by rats, she said.
In 2005, 70 tuatara were transferred to the sanctuary from Takapourewa (Stephens Island) in the Marlborough Sounds.
