Rare species frogmarched to mainland

Some of New Zealand's rarest native frogs were for the first time released into the wild on the mainland yesterday.

Karori Wildlife Sanctuary staff, volunteers and Te Ati Awa/Wellington Tenths Trust, Ngati Kuia representatives and MP Marian Hobbs welcomed the 22 Maud Island frogs.

Sanctuary chief executive Nancy McIntosh-Ward said it was exciting to have the frogs back on the mainland and living at the sanctuary. In 10 years, the sanctuary had successfully reintroduced 13 native species, she said, "but this is the first amphibian species to be released here".

Some of New Zealand's rarest wildlife is protected in the 250ha sanctuary, which is about 2km from central Wellington and which is ringed by an 8.6km predator-proof fence.

A popular educational and visitor attraction, it is the only place on mainland New Zealand where people can experience tuatara, hihi, saddleback and little spotted kiwi in the wild, all thanks to the same reintroduction programme that brought back the Maud Island frog.

The frogs belong to one of four surviving native frog species, all of which are nationally threatened.

As New Zealand frogs evolved in isolation, they are different from the more familiar introduced species in that they lack eardrums, have an extra vertebra, and lay their eggs on land.

- NZPA