Show Notes
In New Zealand, Lizards are as fascinating as they are endangered - there are 125 species and most of them give birth to live young …and they’re true wildlife underdogs - so rare and out of sight, not many people know they exist.
In Central Otago, a team is working to bring back endangered Lizards to the drylands wilderness they once lived in. Otago Skinks, Grand Skinks and other native lizards had gone locally extinct due to introduced pests & habitat destruction and now they are making a slow but steady comeback within the protected space. Welcome to Mokomoko Dryland Sanctuary.
Learn more about NZ’s lesser known reptiles on the sanctuary’s informative website
You can support the sanctuary’s work by donating and stay updated by subscribing to the newsletters here
Featuring -
Grant Norbury - Ecologist, Chairperson, Central Otago Ecological Trust (COET)
Anna Yeoman - Science Communicator, Trustee, COET
Carey Knox - Herpetologist, Southern Scales
Kathryn Longstaff , Department of Conservation (DOC) Central Otago
Ross Curtis , Senior Ranger, DOC Central Otago
Joanna - Ranger, DOC Central Otago
Episode Cover Art Design- @harshi.designs https://www.instagram.com/harshi.designs/
Producer, Sound Recordist, Sound Editor & Presenter -
Karthic SS
Follow the Show
Facebook : https://www.facebook.com/tuneintonature
Instagram : https://www.instagram.com/tuneintonatureshow/
Twitter : https://twitter.com/tunenatureshow
Producer & Presenter: https://instagram.com/karthiscool
Kindly supported by the NZ Lottery Grants Environment and Heritage fund, administered by Te Tari Taiwhenua, the Department of Internal Affairs
Supported by OAR FM Dunedin & Science Communication, University of Otago.
This show was broadcast on community radio OAR 105.4FM Dunedin and available at http://accessmedia.nz/
More from Tune into Nature with Karthic
Red-billed Gulls are declining nationally in New Zealand, but the story in Otago is different.
Earlier this year, a ferret attack wiped out over 40 tītī sooty shearwater chicks in one of the few places they nest on mainland New Zealand. Francesca Cunninghame and the team from Forest and Bird are working to protect the unique seabird colony.
While many of New Zealand’s native wetland birds are in decline, one relative newcomer has been thriving…