New Zealand's first true dryland sanctuary is bringing the lizards back to Central Otago.
Mokomoko Dryland Sanctuary is New Zealand’s first fully-fenced dryland sanctuary, with a vision of restoring to a small patch of Central Otago the unique ecosystem that existed before human settlement.
The focus of this community sanctuary is the diverse and beautiful lizard species that once lived in these drylands, sun basking on the rocky tors and clambering through the scrub.
Watch:
In late 2019 a survey was carried out to see how well the translocated lizards were going.
Get a behind the scenes look at the running of Mokomoko Dryland Sanctuary.
Recent happenings:
April 2023:
We're starting to see some of this summer's newborn grand and Otago skinks out and about in the autumn sun. We've now seen 36 grand skinks and 38 Otago skinks born inside the sanctuary.
Read more of the recent news in our newsletter here:
Mokomoko Newsletter April 2023
An adult female grand skink, Og045, stalks flies at Mokomoko Dryland Sanctuary Feb 2023. Photo: Anna Yeoman
Photo: Anna Yeoman
Photo: Anna Yeoman
Photo: Carey Knox
The jewelled geckos hide in the green shrubs and long grass, while the foot-long Otago skinks soak up the sun on the schist rock stacks. Get to know our local lizards...
Read:
With grateful thanks to our major supporters:
Schist gecko. Carey Knox
Slideshow photos top of page: 1. Otago skink, Carey Knox. 2. Mokomoko Dryland Sanctuary. Anna Yeoman. 3. Jewelled gecko, Carey Knox. 4. Melicytus alpinus. Anna Yeoman. 5. Mokomoko Dryland Sanctuary. 6. McCanns skink. Carey Knox.