livestock

Farm livestock and other animals were introduced onto the Auckland Islands during the 19th century. Most were eradicated by the late 20th century, but before then, some goats (Capra aegagrus hircus), rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus), cattle (Bos taurus) and pigs (Sus scrofa) that were considered to have unique genetic characteristics were taken to mainland New Zealand with a view to studying and maintaining their particular breeds.

The distribution and abundance of lizards relative to habitat structure were studied at Pukerua Bay, Wellington between December 1982 and March 1988 in order to identify options for management of the habitat of the five species of lizards present. One species, Whitaker's skink (Cyclodina whitakeri), is a threatened species with only one known mainland population. Pitfall traps were set for 23 667 trap-days and yielded 2897 lizard captures. Highest capture rate was for common skinks (Oligosoma nigriplantare polychroma) and lowest rate was for C. whitakeri.