>

>

This is his rock and this 40-year-old isn’t letting a few wrinkles stop him from lounging on it in full public view as he celebrates his birthday – not with cake but with a delicious mouse!

While his history with a camera could rival any influencer, this living fossil’s primary role these days is advocacy as a resident at Central Energy Trust Wildbase Recovery in Palmy’s Victoria Esplanade.

Big Boy, who is as handsome and big as his name suggests, was entrusted to the centre’s care by iwi Ngāti Koata, alongside his lady companions Toa and Dazza. The tuatara whakapapa to Takapourewa – Stephens Island, near Nelson, where Ngāti Koata are regional kaitiaki.

On this island, tuatara number in the tens of thousands, thriving as they do on New Zealand’s offshore islands that are either predatorfree or have great predator control. While not endangered, tuatara are considered extinct on mainland New Zealand, where they can only be found in the wild in sanctuaries protected by predator-proof fencing. These reptiles are “living fossils” as the last surviving species of their order. While now only found in our piece of the world, they were on land when Gondwanaland separated 80 million years ago, but other species in their order faded away, mostly because of climate conditions and predation.

As Big Boy watches over his dominion from his prime position in Central Energy Trust Wildbase Recovery’s walk-through enclosure, females Toa and Dazza are happier to stay close to their burrows. You’ll have to look closely to see the smaller females among the foliage.

He is now in a separated area, keeping the ladies free from his attentions. The centre’s focus isn’t captive breeding, but the tuatara didn’t seem to get the memo. As an “interesting” fact, female tuatara can potentially hold sperm for up to seven years. “But it is thought that once it’s used, it’s used. We’ll know in a year if there will be any more babies here,” the centre’s Education and Programmes Officer Brittany Adams says.

 In 2024, the recovery centre was involved in a historic event for Ngāti Koata Trust, when dozens of tuatara were translocated to the Brook Waimārama Sanctuary in their ancestral home of Whakatū – Nelson. Of the 56 translocated, 25 were the progeny of Big Boy and his ladies. Each tuatara got a custom transportation tube for its journey to the sanctuary and was welcomed to its new habitat with a pre-drilled burrow, complete with house number.

Centre Manager Chris Smith says tuatara have no problem reproducing when the environment is good, with no predators and plenty of food. “The issue is that there are not many of those places left in the world.”

Big Boy takes his role as an advocate for his species seriously – he’s been doing it in one way or another since he hatched. “He’s gorgeous to look at and he’s really active compared with other tuatara. He’s tolerant too and not phased with people watching him,” Brittany says.

In his earlier years, his image featured in tuatara promotional and marketing material but his life at the Palmy recovery centre is more relaxed. He isn’t handled much and is happy chilling out on his rock with his mouth open. “They are ancient reptiles that are pretty basic in their behaviour, they’re not show-offs,” Brittany says.

As ambush predators, they sit still, doing nothing until something moves past and they snatch out. “They can move pretty fast then. They are also quite wiggly to catch,” Chris says.

If you are visiting at the right time of year, Big Boy is usually front and centre and easy to see. “But you’d be surprised how many people don’t see him because he is so still.”

Unlike Australian lizards, tuatara are not sun worshippers. The best time to see them at Central Energy Trust Wildbase Recovery is in the fringe seasons, which give the most appropriate climate for them. “They don’t like the heat and don’t like the cold. Their ideal temperature is 18 degrees,” Chris says.

“When it gets cold overnight, that’s when they go into torpor [hibernation]. In summer, they seek shelter from the heat to regulate their temperature.” While in torpor, tuatara slow their breathing and heart rate. They don’t need to eat or poop “but if it’s a particularly warm day, you might see them come out to poop, have a snack and go back to sleep,” Brittany says.

Head to the centre’s website to see opening hours and learn more about the patient and resident manu – birds at the facility. There is an education programme available for school groups, as well as teaching and learning resources.