All the weta to see you with

Craig Simcox

Last edit: 28 April 2007 15:12

William Scholten, 6, of Karori, goes in for a better view of a Cook Strait giant weta. Gone from the mainland for more than a century, William's mate is one of about 100 making a comeback at Karori Wildlife Sanctuary.

The release is the first of four planned from Matiu-Somes Island and Mana Island, with 450 of the mouse-sized insects eventually expected to be transferred. Sanctuary chief executive Nancy McIntosh-Ward said yesterday she was delighted about the new guests.

Weta were like "living dinosaurs", as unique to the New Zealand landscape as kiwi and tuatara. Weighing up to 27 grams and measuring about 70 millimetres long, the Cook Strait giant weta was originally driven from the mainland by stoats and rats. But despite their size, the giants were herbivores and thought to be more docile than their common relatives. In another first, 20 of the weta were fitted with radio transmitters to monitor their movement around the sanctuary, she said. New Zealand is home to more than 70 species of weta.

The word comes from Wetapunga, the Maori god of ugly things.

Picture: CRAIG SIMCOX