A Brothers Island tuatara at EcoWorld has died. (File photo) Photo: Supplied/LDR
A tuatara at Picton's EcoWorld Aquarium that died last week has been sent to Massey University to investigate its cause of death, the Department of Conservation says.
Meanwhile, a vet is to check the health of the four remaining tuatara at the aquarium, which has three weeks to vacate its building on the foreshore following a lengthy legal wrangle with its landlord.
DOC Sounds manager Dave Hayes said they were informed on Wednesday last week that a Brothers Island tuatara had died the day before. Brothers Island tuatara were endemic to New Zealand, and, according to the EcoWorld website, there were roughly 400 of the species left.
Hayes said the cause of death was not known at this stage and EcoWorld had been asked to provide a report on the "circumstances" of the tuatara's death, which they were yet to receive. EcoWorld director John Reuhman was approached for comment.
The tuatara was one of five - three Cook Strait tuatara (Sphenodon gunther) and two Brothers Island tuatara - held at EcoWorld under a DOC wildlife permit, Hayes said. Brothers Island tuatara were a subspecies of the Cook Strait tuatara, according to the EcoWorld website.
The tuatara project at EcoWorld started in 2008, and was in partnership with DOC and local iwi, Te Ātiawa. The two Brothers Island tuatara were possibly aged between 30 and 40-years-old when they arrived in Picton, the Marlborough Express reported at the time. A study earlier this year suggested tuatara had a 137-year life span.
Hayes said DOC staff visited EcoWorld "periodically" to check on the management of the tuatara as well as kākāriki/yellow-crowned parakeets held there under wildlife permits, with the most recent visit undertaken last month.
DOC was already working with iwi and Port Marlborough, the aquarium's landlord, on options for rehoming the remaining tuatara and kākāriki, Hayes said, following a High Court decision last Friday. That decision gave Reuhman until December 16 to get out of the building.
Reuhman believed he had a right of renewal on his lease, and refused to vacate the building when the lease ended on July 22, 2021. However, Justice David Gendall ruled Reuhman waived any right of renewal when he made a "counter-offer" during lease discussions in 2015.
In a statement earlier this week, through his lawyer, Reuhman said he was "bitterly disappointed" by the High Court's decision, and he was "considering" his options.
Reuhman said it had been a privilege to run EcoWorld, looking after "hundreds of fish and other marine creatures, rehabilitated penguins, an albatross and other creatures".
"We have looked after the rare Brothers Island tuatara since 2008," the statement on Tuesday said. It did not mention one had died the week before.
Meanwhile, Port Marlborough said in a statement the welfare of EcoWorld's animals remained its top priority and specialist staff had been contracted to assist with the rehoming process. The port would take over responsibility of the animals that remained after December 16.
One of EcoWorld's Cook Strait tuatara Photo: Supplied/LDR
Te Ātiawa o te Waka-a-Maui pouwhakahaere (manager) Justin Carter said the Brothers Island tuatara was a taonga (treasure) and important to them, and other iwi.
Te Ātiawa, with its cultural manager, conducted a karakia for the dead tuatara before it was sent to Massey University, Carter said.
Carter said the concern at this stage was understanding the cause of death.
"The important thing at the moment is understanding what's happened and how it's happened.
"So we're just waiting patiently along with others to see the results from the autopsy."
He said their relationship with EcoWorld and DOC had always been great.
"It's really sad when something like this happens," he said.
"We understand the purpose of having tuatara such as that one in EcoWorld, in a captive holding environment, to raise its profile and for people to learn and understand about this taonga," he said.
"This is not an outcome that we ever want, so that's why at the moment we are waiting for some more information, so we can understand how this has happened."
Te Ātiawa would continue to work with everyone involved throughout the process, he said.
"Along with other iwi, we will determine the tikanga around what to do with the body of the tuatara, but we have protocols for that," he said.
Local Democracy Reporting is Public Interest Journalism funded through NZ On Air