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Rare kapitia skinks released back into wild

Auckland Zoo is releasing more than 40 native skinks back to their original habitat in the South Island. The kapitia skink is one of 130 species of native skinks and has been on the critically endangered list ever since a small population of 100 to 200was discovered in 1992. Their situation became even more precarious after Cyclone Fehi ripped through the West Coast in 2018, destroying 40 per cent of their habitat. It was then that the Department of Conservation called in Auckland Zoo to save and care for the skinks. ‘‘Being able to send these skinks back to their natural range is a big success, a big breakthrough,’’ the zoo’s head of animal care and conservation, Richard Gibson, said. Two hundred to 300 kapitia skinks remain in the wild.

National News

en-nz

2021-11-27T08:00:00.0000000Z

2021-11-27T08:00:00.0000000Z

https://stuff.pressreader.com/article/281599538769841

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