Endangered skinks get first safe haven

A community conservation project in Central Otago aims to reintroduce critically endangered lizards.

The Central Otago Ecological Trust pilot project, supported by the Conservation Department and Landcare Research, plan to release 12 Otago skinks into a protective enclosure at the Aldinga Conservation Area near Alexandra.

Trust chairman Grant Norbury said the project would determine whether captive-bred skink could survive in the wild.

"There has been a lot of depletion of lizards in Central Otago because the land has changed dramatically with farming, viticulture and pastoral use."

The lizard population in the area had also been heavily predated because of introduced pests such as cats, he said.

Conservation was vital because some species could be extinct within 20 years. The Aldinga enclosure is the first project of its kind in Central Otago.

He said nine Otago skinks were in torpor the species do not hibernate but spend most of the winter underground at the Alexandra Landcare Research offices.

In November the trust would release them into a 200 square metre enclosure but staff would continue to feed the lizards with fruit and insects.

"They are all captive-bred so we want to tread carefully. If that's successful and they sustain themselves then we'll expand the fence," Mr Norbury said.

Work was continuing near Conroy's dam to recover vegetation in a 14ha area surrounding the enclosure.

If the pilot were successful the trust wanted to expand it and introduce wild skink and other species, including the Duvaucel's gecko and tuatara, he said.

- © Fairfax NZ News