Tuataras? No, we spotted more than that!

ravenruis (58) in photography • 7 years ago

The Tuatara

Yesterday we had to take a trip to the 'big smoke' (aka Invercargill) and had a bit of spare time so ended up at the Southland Museum and Art Gallery, which has sadly - and very suddenly -just had to close its doors due to issues around the building deemed not being earthquake safe.
(Btw, eastern Southland rarely feels earthquakes and doesn't have any known fault lines.)
Luckily for us, we were still able to check out the Tuatara enclosure, which has a large viewing window on the outside of the building, and the weather was warm enough that the Tuataras were outside for us to see.
For the most part they look like concrete-cast garden ornaments, but occasionally one would move its head - tracking us as we changed positions while taking the photos. We were thrilled each time we spotted yet another of these cool reptiles.

Here are the pics I took. In a couple of them the Tuatara are a little more difficult to spot, but that just makes it all the more fun. ;)

(sorry for the reflection taking up some of the shot)

The most famous resident is Henry, who made headlines around the world when he became a father for the first time, aged 111.

Henry, the famous 111-year-old tuatara from Invercargill, has finally become a dad.
Nine of 11 eggs laid by his lover Mildred hatched at the Southland Museum at the weekend, with the remaining two due last night.
The baby tuatara, whose ancestors go back 220 million years, were all running around and doing well, chuffed museum tuatara curator Lindsay Hazley said.
Henry, a resident at the Southland Museum and Art Gallery since 1970, hit the world headlines in March when he finally proved his manhood at age 111. Mildred subsequently laid 12 eggs, with 11 surviving.
Henry had been uninterested in sex for the entire time he had been in captivity. He had been well-known for his aggression and for 15 years was kept in solitary confinement because he did not get on with other tuatara. But after a cancer growth was removed from his bottom he finally got in the mood.
source

We couldn't tell if Henry was amongst the posers we saw, there were no signs or information that we could see.
You can read some of the interesting history on the museum website's page though.
Another visitor was telling us that often (before the museum closure) people might have been lucky enough to touch one of the reptiles, or have a small one placed on their arm. Children sometimes had the opportunity during school trips.
That would have been so very cool to have experienced, I think.

Even though the museum is closed, and I am not sure what will happen to the Tuatara, they are well worth a visit to see this unique NZ reptile living in the deep south.

All photos taken on my Samsung N8 phone. As long as I can hold it very steady (in this case leaning against the enclosure glass), it takes decent shots otherwise I've found it to be very sensitive to hand vibrations, which then equates to very blurry pics. Overall I am not impressed by the quality of the photos this phone takes, though.

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7 years ago by ravenruis (58)

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bekindtobees (37) · 7 years ago

Henry became a dad in his eleventy first year ;) I actually hail from Invergiggles, but don't hold it against me, lol!

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ravenruis (58) · 7 years ago (edited)

hehe yeah eleventy-first :D

Glad to finally have another Southlander around the place! (Don't tell anyone, but I'm an import, lol) :)

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bekindtobees (37) · 7 years ago

Keep it secret, keep it safe xD

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teamnz (50) · 7 years ago

This is a curation bot for TeamNZ. Please join our AUS/NZ community on Discord.
For any inquiries/issues about the bot please contact @cryptonik. Photo credits @lordnigel.

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forykw (64) · 7 years ago (edited)

On my checklist once I have the opportunity to go there. Didn’t know Tuataras could be so old... wow! And the big one for me was becoming a dad at 111!

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ravenruis (58) · 7 years ago

I know, amazing stuff.

Poor chap, having that cancer which was making him quite grumpy and not in the mood.

I do hope you get the opportunity to see them one day. :)

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ryivhnn (65) · 7 years ago

Ahh how cool, they're so cute! XD LoL poor old Henry, guess the cancer really stymied his mood XD Damn those things can kick along for a while O_O Maybe some day when I'm rich I'll jump across the ditch to see all these cool things XD

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ravenruis (58) · 7 years ago

I hope you get the opportunity, and to see our other natives :)

I've been to Oz, and experienced a few of yours :D

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tattoodjay (73) · 7 years ago

funnily enough I was talking a colleague at work yesterday and for the life of me I could not remember the name of the tuatara, but thankfully this great post reminded me of its name

tip!