Fifth Baby Tuatara Discovered at Invercargill Museum Site

• Fifth baby tuatara discovered during demolition of Invercargill’s former museum site.
• Baby tuatara are now in a temporary home at Queens Park.
• Public can view the tuatara at an event on Saturday.

After ten days of extensive monitoring at Invercargill’s museum demolition site, a fifth baby tuatara has been found. Last week, demolition was paused when four baby tuatara were unexpectedly discovered alive in the former tuatara enclosure.
Related:  Baby Tuatara Discovered During Museum Demolition

Council Parks Performance Manager Kate Gough shared that after careful exploration and monitoring, including thermal imaging and close examination of burrows, another baby tuatara was found last Friday. “We’re confident that we have completed a full and comprehensive inspection over the past week and a half and this was the last baby hiding,” she said.

In February 2023, Invercargill’s resident tuatara were moved from the museum to make way for the Invercargill City Council’s project to demolish and rebuild the museum. It is likely that hidden tuatara eggs remained unhatched at that time.

Gough mentioned that the baby tuatara are currently housed temporarily in the new tuatara facility at Queens Park.

The five baby tuatara range in size from 110mm to 120mm and weigh between 5g and 9g. They are likely less than 12 months old. The juvenile tuatara were found where the Brothers Island tuatara were kept, a species not previously known for breeding during the breeding programme’s existence, according to Council Parks and Recreation Manager Caroline Rain.