Young tuatara set for grand debut

Two 21-month-old tuatara have now arrived at Kiwi North. Photo / Supplied

The tuatara is known as living fossils, New Zealand's last surviving link to the age of the dinosaurs.

And from the end of this month Northlanders will be able to observe two young "ancient reptiles" in their new home at Kiwi North.

Kiwi North, as it is now known, at the Maunu museum grounds, has been working since 1990 to get tuatara to display, but it was only with the opening of the state-of-the-art kiwi house last year that the plan could finally be implemented.

Two 21-month-old tuatara have now arrived at Kiwi North and are settling into their flash, new enclosure before they will make their grand public debut on September 29.

Kiwi North manager Allie Fry-Kewene said the late Marge Maddren was largely responsible for setting up what was then known as the Whangarei Native Forest and Bird Society which then established the first kiwi house at the museum grounds in 1990.

"She wanted to have tuatara as part of that, but because the building wasn't able to house them, we had to wait until we had a building able to provide the right environment so the new building has been the catalyst for us getting these two baby dragons now."

A competition to name the two tuatara is to be held by More FM, but as the sex of the tuatara won't be known for a while, in some cases several years, any submitted names should be uni-sex.

"We are delighted and just so excited to have the tuatara here now and we think they will be a huge hit with the public," she said.

For now they would be exhibited in an indoor enclosure, but in the future an outdoor section may be included too.

Mrs Fry-Kewene said tuatara fed on insects - beetles, weta, worms, millipedes and spiders - and Kiwi North bred its own supply of insects and bugs to keep all its occupants well fed.