Hamilton Zoo lizards stolen from zoo

Chlidonias

Chlidonias

Moderator
Staff member
15+ year member
Raid on zoo's rare reptiles - New Zealand, world, sport, business & entertainment news on Stuff.co.nz
Raid on zoo's rare reptiles
By NICOLA BRENNAN - Waikato Times | Tuesday, 21 October 2008

Four unusual lizards stolen in a smash-and-grab at Hamilton Zoo could be destined for the black market.

Thieves cut through three sets of chained and padlocked doors and broke into the enclosure - just to the right of the zoo entrance - on Friday night.

They smashed a glass panel and caught a pair of madagascan day geckos.

They also took a pair of bearded dragons - on loan from a private collector - and attempted to get into the tuatara cage.

Waikato Times inquiries found the madagascan day gecko - a striking lime green colour - could be worth thousands of dollars on the black market.

New Zealand Herpetological Society national committee member David Wilkinson believed it was likely the lizards were stolen to be sold on the black market.

The bearded dragons could be worth up to $500 each, but the madagascan day geckos were particularly rare and valuable, he said.

"The day gecko is very rare in New Zealand, certainly worth thousands of dollars.''

The theft has shocked staff at the zoo.

Reptile keeper Kara Goddard said she was "gutted'' at the theft and said her main concern was for the madagascan day geckos, which are listed on the Agriculture Ministry containment list for zoo species.

That means it is illegal for any person to keep or buy the lizard outside of a zoo.

"They have got quite delicate skin and it is a concern to me that they have had some rough handling,'' Ms Goddard said. ``They can scratch pretty easily.

"I feel violated, actually. We had only recently done up the enclosure and made it look good.'' Zoo director Stephen Standley said the break-in was a terrible blow.

"We are all just devastated,'' he said. "We don't have a very big collection anyway. Thousands of people could come and see the day gecko while they were here, but now only a few will see them. In a way it's a waste of an animal.''

There was also a health risk with the bearded dragon - which were carrying a mild strain of salmonella.
Mr Standley said the zoo had been broken into before, but this was the first time any animals had been taken.

He urged anyone with information to contact the zoo or the police.

The reptile enclosure has been secured and further changes are planned for the building to increase the security.
Click to expand...
in NZ there are very few reptile species available to private pet-keepers so there is a big illegal trade for smuggled animals. Its pretty easy to "launder" smuggled Australian reptiles and birds because several of them are openly available from breeders and anything unusual can be claimed as having been in the country since before the laws regarding importation from Australia were changed (or having been bred in the country in the interval from legally imported animals); NZ has traditionally also been a pit-stop for smuggling between Australia and other countries (that is, the animals are smuggled into NZ then legally exported to America, Europe, Asia, etc, as "bred in NZ").
Bearded dragons can actually be bought off the internet auction site TradeMe for as little as $300 (which by NZ standards is very cheap for a reptile). They used to be around $1000 each but the prices have dropped dramatically in recent years, partly due to more intensive breeding but also I suspect due to increased smuggling (which is also the reason there are now several colour forms of dragons such as yellow and red available here that weren't before).
The Madagascan day geckos, as the article says, are very rare in NZ and can only be held in zoos but they would be a highly-sought-after species for private reptile keepers. Reptile theft is always a major concern for NZ zoos and aquariums. Just off the top of my head I can think of thefts from Auckland Zoo, Orana Park, Invercargill tuatarium, Ti Point, and now Hamilton Zoo.
 
I heard about this on the news... F***in cretans... I remember when at the zoo last year mentally marking the lack of security in the reptile house as a concern...

I've had a chat to a few reptile breeders here in Auckland and that smuggling goes on is the worst kept secret in town...
 
the Madagascar day geckos have been recovered by police....
Waikato Times: local, national & world news from Waikato's daily newspaper
Welcome home, liz

A pair of cold little geckos, stolen during a smash-and-grab at Hamilton Zoo, were back home and warming up yesterday- but their two Aussie mates are still missing.

The two Madagascan day geckos and two Australian bearded dragons were snatched last Friday night after thieves cut through three sets of chained and padlocked doors to get into the reptile enclosure, near the zoo's entrance.

They cut locks to several cages and smashed a glass panel while grabbing the pair of day geckos.

The geckos were returned to the zoo on Wednesday after a "concerned member of the public" saw the media coverage, zoo director Stephen Standley said.

Details were passed on to the police, who found the geckos. Mr Standley and police would not elaborate on where they were found while efforts were being made to find the other two lizards. No one has yet been charged.

Mr Standley said initial concerns for the geckos' health proved unfounded. "They were a little cold, but actually still moving," he said yesterday.

"We put them straight back into their cage, which we had warmed up for them."

The geckos had well and truly settled back in when the Waikato Times visited. While a little stunned by all the attention, the striking lime-green coloured creatures looked plump and unscathed by their adventure.

"It's fantastic (to have them back). Obviously we'd hoped to get both pairs, but at the end of the day we are just pleased to see them back," Mr Standley said.

The reptile house - closed since the burglary - was expected to reopen this morning. It has been tightly secured, and further security measures are planned.

Mr Standley said he was now focused on tracking down the bearded dragons, which were on loan from an unnamed private collector.

The police had followed a couple of leads, but it turned out the lizards they found were not the zoo's, Mr Standley said.

Bearded dragons are more common than the day geckos - which are illegal to own privately in New Zealand and are worth thousands on the black market.

Mr Standley said the bearded dragons' being more common than day geckos made them harder to track down. These two had no distinctive features, so it was possible they would never be recovered.

New Zealand Customs spokeswoman Wendy Cooper said New Zealand had a large black market for reptiles.

"The demand usually comes from collectors of exotic species,' she said.

There were several cases each year of people trying to illegally import or export exotic or endangered species. If caught, a person could face up to five years in prison and/or a $100,000 fine under the Biosecurity Act.

New Zealand Herpetological Society committee member David Wilkinson said the dragons were worth about $500 on the black market.
Click to expand...
 
Thats good news, the bearded dragons are far more replacable than the geckos...
 
try telling that to the breeder who lent their lizards to the zoo only to see them get stolen!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top