{"id":434180,"date":"2026-05-19T00:24:08","date_gmt":"2026-05-19T00:24:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/434180\/"},"modified":"2026-05-19T00:24:08","modified_gmt":"2026-05-19T00:24:08","slug":"on-the-up-giant-weta-arrive-on-whangarei-island-in-major-conservation-milestone","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/434180\/","title":{"rendered":"On The Up: Giant w\u0113t\u0101 arrive on Whang\u0101rei island in major conservation milestone"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"FriendsFriends of Matakohe-Limestone Island chairwoman Pam Stevens chooses a spot to release one of the w\u0113t\u0101punga. Photo \/ Wendy Brown<\/p>\n

Encapsulated in bamboo tubes and packed into chilly bins at about 4am on May 5, they were safely transported to their new home and formally handed over on the island by members of Auckland iwi Ng\u0101ti Manuhiri to mana whenua Te Parawhau. <\/p>\n

Formalities included a reveal by Butterfly Creek staff of an adult female w\u0113t\u0101punga, which measure up to 20cm long and can weigh as much as a small bird. <\/p>\n

Friends of Matakohe-Limestone Island chairwoman Pam Stevens said the species\u2019 heavy-duty body was a reminder it had been around since the age of the dinosaurs. <\/p>\n

Attendees then helped choose new homes for the insects, nestling the bamboo containers high in the branches of preferred food trees \u2013 broadleaf species like p\u016briri, karaka and the kohekohe \u2013 for which the island was originally named. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe put them in the trees with cable ties … then took off the gauze for them to come out overnight.\u201d <\/p>\n

They are expected to venture out mostly at dusk, feeding on flowers, fruit and leaves. <\/p>\n

Stevens described the transfer as an \u201cextraordinary achievement \u2013 one the whole community can cherish\u201d and \u201ca special occasion for a special island\u201d. <\/p>\n

The project, which cost about $15,000 and required specific consents, was funded by Foundation North with support from Golden Bay Cement and other sponsors. <\/p>\n

Giant w\u0113t\u0101 were once abundant in Northland<\/a> but numbers have declined significantly over time because of introduced predators<\/a>. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe young are bred on the ground … then they get nailed by rats and mice,\u201d Stevens said. <\/p>\n

She said the species\u2019 introduction at Matakohe-Limestone builds on more than 35 years of work to transform the 37-hectare island into a predator-free sanctuary,<\/a> now renowned for its kiwi creche breeding programme. <\/p>\n

Matakohe-Limestone Island, in the middle of Whang\u0101rei Harbour, has been occupied by humans for much of its history. It was once a significant and strategic p\u0101 site, with remains of extensive k\u016bmara gardens still evident on its northern slopes. From the late 1850s to 1920, settlers operated cement works on the island, the jumbled concrete towers of which still stand today. <\/p>\n

For the next 70 years, the island was largely neglected, not becoming a focus again until biodiversity restoration efforts began in 1989. <\/p>\n

Since then, with the steadfast support of Te Parawhau iwi, thousands of hours of volunteer labour and critical financial backing from sponsors, pest animals and plants have been systematically removed, and more than 200,000 native trees and shrubs have been planted, Stevens said. <\/p>\n

\"TheThe w\u0113t\u0101punga were transported in individual bamboo containers inside chilly bins, arriving safely at their new home on Whang\u0101rei Harbour’s Matakohe-Limestone Island. Photos \/ Wendy Brown\"AfterAfter formalities, the w\u0113t\u0101punga were taken in their bamboo containers for release at several different spots around the island. Photos \/ Wendy Brown <\/p>\n

\u201cThe island is invigorated; it shows in the variety of wildlife flourishing here \u2013 young kiwi wander, safe in their island creche, pipits, fernbirds and numerous other bird species fly in and around, along with geckos, skinks, stick insects, tree w\u0113t\u0101 … \u201d<\/p>\n

Next on the list? Native snails and giraffe beatles, Stevens said. <\/p>\n

According to the Department of Conservation, New Zealand is home to more than 70 endemic species of w\u0113t\u0101, including 11 species of giant w\u0113t\u0101, with the w\u0113t\u0101punga the largest of them all. Adult females can weigh up to 35 grams \u2013 heavier than an average house sparrow \u2013 and can take up to two years to reach maturity, shedding their exoskeleton up to 11 times before becoming fully grown.<\/p>\n

W\u0113t\u0101punga live for six to nine months as adults, during which time they breed and lay between 100 and 300 eggs in the soil. Conservation breeding programmes at Butterfly Creek and Auckland Zoo have played a key role in the species\u2019 recovery, raising w\u0113t\u0101punga for release into predator-free habitats to help restore wild populations.<\/p>\n

Sarah Curtis<\/a> is a news reporter for the Northern Advocate, focusing on a wide range of issues. She has nearly 20 years\u2019 experience in journalism, most of which she spent reporting on the courts in Gisborne and the East Coast.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Friends of Matakohe-Limestone Island chairwoman Pam Stevens chooses a spot to release one of the w\u0113t\u0101punga. Photo \/…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":434181,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[9526,11429,1558,3093,1389,13313,82858,305,24176,78,18600,2514,3096,19136,661,32739,222208,3259,111,139,69,90,222207,13181,6756,147,223,810,1869,406,17450,113980,1530],"class_list":["post-434180","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-wildlife","tag-another","tag-arrive","tag-been","tag-biodiversity","tag-conservation","tag-giant","tag-harbours","tag-have","tag-hundreds","tag-in","tag-insect","tag-island","tag-islands","tag-largest","tag-major","tag-marking","tag-matakohelimestone","tag-milestone","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-on","tag-predatorfree","tag-released","tag-restoration","tag-science","tag-the","tag-up","tag-whangrei","tag-wildlife","tag-worlds","tag-wt","tag-years"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/434180","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=434180"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/434180\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/434181"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=434180"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=434180"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=434180"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}