Is cool egg incubation temperature a limiting factor for the translocation of tuatara to southern New Zealand?
Conservation strategy for maintaining and protecting tuatara (Sphenodon punctatus), a rare endemic reptile from New Zealand, includes the reinstatement of populations through the past historical range. A proposal exists to translocate tuatara from Stephens Island in Cook Strait to the Orokonui Ecosanctuary (Te Korowai o Mihiwaka), a coastal site in southern New Zealand. The proposed site is within the former latitudinal range of the genus, but lies outside the current distribution of tuatara, where the climate is warmer.