All fenced in and fancy free at Ponatahi Lizard Sanctuary

BY PIERS FULLER

A formidable fence has been completed around a lizard sanctuary in central Wairarapa making the 1.2 hectare enclosure impregnable to land-based predators.

The 575-metre, stainless steel mesh and iron-capped fence was completed in February by fencing contractor Andrew McKay and his co-worker, Richard Puddy.

Tim Hewitt owns the land where the Ponatahi Lizard Sanctuary is located. He said the fence proved difficult to erect and took a great deal of skill and problem-solving.

"It had to be mouse-proof, not just sheep-proof. The ground was very rocky and steep in places. The corners for the capping rail needed to be engineered by Rob Wall, of Walls Engineering  these were tricky because of the various angles involved," he says.

The major funding for this project came from the Biodiversity Fund ($82,000) with help from the T J Hewitt Trust. Although the fence was not cheap, costing more than $110,000, it is designed to last for many decades.

John McLennan, of Hawke's Bay, was the instigator of the sanctuary project when Mr Hewitt notified him of the presence of the native lizards. Pat Enright and Tony Silbury did a thorough survey of the site and vegetation, listing all the trees and grasses found.

Lizard guru Dr Marieke Lettink, of Canterbury, visited the site and was instrumental in setting up the project.

The area is now in part of the QE2 Trust. The trust's representative, Trevor Thompson, supplied traps and poison for the elimination of hedgehogs, rats, mice, stoats and wild cats.

Already coprosmas are starting to regenerate and this winter's project will be to plant more coproslmas and clematis which are ideal lizard habitat.

"As far as we're aware, this is the first pest-proof fence constructed for lizards in the North Island although there have been several fences in the South Island. Other fences have been constructed to contain birds and other wildlife," says Mr Hewitt.

The species of lizards found in the enclosure are spotted skink, common skink, green gecko and forest gecko. The numbers of these are still low. However, during the next five years there should be a noticeable increase, especially in the spotted skink numbers. Permission will hopefully be obtained for the translocation of some spotted skinks to enhance this isolated population in spring.

"The Wairarapa spotted skink is very striking in comparison with other skinks and must be protected or else it could go the way of the speckled skink which is now virtually extinct here," he says.

He is looking for people with an interest in lizards and conservation to be involved. This entails checking the fence for pest break-in, counting and photographing lizards for identification, and translocating lizards from other sites.

- Wairarapa News