Chester Zoo European first breeding of Tuatara

@ZG. that is mega mega huge news and kudos to the Reptile/Amphibian Team at Chester Zoo. Literary, it is an achievement of global importance.

The last few years had seen some hopeful signs already and now that the egg has finally cracked, .... onto the next stage!

I have had the pleasure to talk to the keepers in the TA on several occasions regarding the tuataras and other herps, so it is really very nice to see their hard work reap such exciting results.

And really: nothing, nothing ... can top this breeding achievement this year!!!
 
Massive congratulations to everyone involved at Chester - this is brilliant news, and well-deserved reward for all their efforts over many (many!) years.
 
Wow! Congratulations to Isolde and the rest of the team and to Pixie and Mustard too of course :)

Alan
 
I'd go one step further and suggest it is the most significant piece of captive breeding news in recent years, let alone this year.

Waiting for Chlidonias to find this thread now, as I recall a conversation with him in the chatroom a few years ago where he said he was extremely doubtful the species would *ever* breed outside NZ :p
 
TeaLovingDave said:
I'd go one step further and suggest it is the most significant piece of captive breeding news in recent years, let alone this year.
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I dare to suggest the most significant first breeding since Pairi Daiza bred its first shoebill.
 
Brilliant news, definitely the biggest achievment at Chester for a long time! Congratulations to the whole team! :)
 
It's great news, they are incredible creatures.

How well do they breed in captivity in the rest of the world?
 
Congratulations to Isolde and the team :) a long awaited milestone (but very much worth the wait!)
 
Congratulations to the whole of the reptile at CZ. This birth is really significant for Chester Zoo. Also congratulations Pixie and Mustard! :) :) :) Great News :) :) :)
 
TeaLovingDave said:
Waiting for Chlidonias to find this thread now, as I recall a conversation with him in the chatroom a few years ago where he said he was extremely doubtful the species would *ever* breed outside NZ :p
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I'm not sure I would have said that? But I don't recall the conversation, so I'll take your word for it.

There are very few groups of tuatara outside NZ of course - maybe five or six total (off-hand I can think of Chester, Berlin, Dallas, St. Louis and San Diego - does Toldeo still have them?), and they aren't easy to breed. Hopefully Chester can manage to keep them producing viable eggs.

It would be neat if they can put it on display at some point - baby tuatara are really cute!
 
If they don't put it on-display before the late spring, it will be beyond the "visible parietal eye" stage :p so I hope they at least release photos before then!
 
Brilliant news . I assume the photo now on the Chester Zoo Facebook page is the baby .

Believe they came close to breeding a couple of years ago . The Annual Report recorded a Tuatara Birth/Did-not-Survive .

I would always check out the old , small Tuatara exhibit ( near Sand Lizards , had Mallorcan midwife toads in it later on ) when I visited the Zoo and counted myself lucky if I saw one of the original pair .

I think one of the original pair died long ago . Anyone know if the second is still part of the current group ?
 
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Bele said:
I think one of the original pair died long ago . Anyone know if the second is still part of the current group ?
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The history of the tuatara group is described in this thread http://www.zoochat.com/38/animals-chester-have-not-had-sucess-15105/index2.html. It is interesting to note that several of the species mentioned in it have now bred successfully.
It's nice to see the photo on Facebook; but the comment seems fatuous - I doubt that the skills required for success with tuatara are really transferable to other species. Incidentally I would also like to mention Richard Gibson, the former Curator of Reptiles etc, who talked to us about the tuatara on the Walk & Talk in 2011: he described the changes that they had made to their enclosure, including extra planting, which may have played a part in this success (I know it was quite long ago, but tuatara don't do anything quickly).
Does anyone else remember the first tuatara display at the zoo? It was a specially ventilated exhibit in the old Reptile House beside the sea lions (the site is now part of the Penguin enclosure). The little house which eventually held the toads was built subsequently.

Alan
 
TeaLovingDave said:
If they don't put it on-display before the late spring, it will be beyond the "visible parietal eye" stage :p so I hope they at least release photos before then!
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it just looks like a little white spot really, nothing interesting other than being able to say "I know what that spot is".
 
TeaLovingDave said:
If they don't put it on-display before the late spring, it will be beyond the "visible parietal eye" stage :p so I hope they at least release photos before then!
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I would think the Reptile Team will not let the hatchling come on show any time soon and want to ensure that it is raised successfully in a climate controlled environment and conducive exhibit for the hatchling.

Secondly, I guess the chances are now more realistic of the NZES getting perhaps some more males to increase the chances for successful and further breeding. But I guess both Isolde and the Rep Team will be very careful not to uproot the current flow of things.
 
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