geckos stolen

[Chlidonias]

from the Heritage Museum in Whangarei in the far north of New Zealand
Fat Albert among seven stolen gecko | Stuff.co.nz

A gecko named Fat Albert is among seven native geckos stolen in a night-time raid on a Northland conservation park.

KiwiNorth director Sue Walters, said the park staff in Whangarei were "devastated'' when they arrived at work this morning to find their gecko enclosure had been smashed open.

Seven Forest geckos, a threatened species, had been taken in what looked to be a "targeted'' theft, Walters said.

The park was hit by another gecko-theft in 2006 when four animals were taken.

They have never been recovered.

Fat Albert, a gecko that ate all the flies before the other lizards could get to them, survived that theft but was taken last night.

Walters said Fat Albert had recently been sick and attachments had been formed with the staff who nursed him back to health.

Walters said while the immediate thought was that the geckos could be smuggled overseas for sale on the black market, there were cases documented in New Zealand of lizards stolen to be kept as pets.

The inter-departmental Wildlife Enforcement Group had been informed, Walters said.

Anyone with information was asked to call Whangarei Police.

 

[Chlidonias]

Man arrested and stolen geckos recovered - Yahoo!Xtra News

A man has been arrested over the theft of more than 20 geckos taken from two separate locations in Northland over the past 10 days.

At least 15 geckos have been recovered by police and Department of Conservation staff.

The arrest related to burglaries at Whangarei Museum on June 28-29 when seven forest geckos were stolen, and at Ti Point Reptile Park, Warkworth, on June 27 when 16 green geckos were taken, Acting Sergeant Christian Stainton, of Whangarei, said.

A search warrant was executed at a rural property west of Whangarei today, during which at least 15 geckos were recovered.

"The investigation in this case utilised a co-ordinated approach involving numerous government agencies, including NZ Police, NZ Customs, NZ Wildlife and the Department of Conservation," Mr Stainton said.

"The recovered geckos are currently in the safe custody of DOC staff, receiving the necessary care and attention."

An unemployed 19-year-old Whangarei man is to appear in Whangarei District Court tomorrow facing two charges of burglary.
Mr Stainton said the agencies appreciated the public help they received during the investigation.

 

[Jabiru96]

All I can say is at least it turned out good, as long as no-one was hurt and the geckos came back in good condition