Tuatara in zoos outside of New Zealand?

[Osedax]

I do not think they will thrive to any degree in a hot air desert climate.

Neither of the Australian zoos they have moved to are in a "hot air desert climate".

 

[Torgos]

TBH: I should have used the word "brainless" as they sent away the breeding male and perhaps one or other of the 2 females transferred to Australia were part of the breeding group. It is incomprehensible that management/senior staff would have allowed the only breeding group outside New Zealand to be broken up ..., despite dedicated keeper working hard to create the conditions for the Tuatara to breed. Now, they are a cold resistent, temperate and nocturne species ..., I do not think they will thrive to any degree in a hot air desert climate. Come to think of it ..., it is insane decision that devies all good decision making on rare herps and breeding them.

Yikes, I think you're being unfair. We don't know why this happened but I'll bet there IS a decent reason even if Zoochatters don't know it. Here's the resume of the curator - after 10 years at Chester and 10 years at Durrell the one thing this guy cannot be is brainless. Dr Gerardo Garcia - What we do

 

[MRJ]

It is all the more sad that Chester Zoo's Tuatara were relocated behind the scenes just as zoo staff had sussed out how to get the lizards to breed. They had multiple clutches over several years, starting in 2015. It is mind boggling why they have taken them off exhibit and even more so they sent individuals to Australia (why not back to Wellington if they had to?).

Regarding returning animals to Wellington, it is unlikely the New Zealand authorities would want them back, simply because there is always the potential for disease, and it is not as though they don't already have them.

 

[Fallax]

Worth mentioning with regards to the Chester tuatara is that in the past 15 years or so the zoo has moved towards focusing on specific regions for its master plan. All the North American and Australian animals in the collection were completely phased out and the tuatara don't really fit in anywhere (even being in the Tropical Realm wasn't particularly fitting for a NZ species ) plus although the breeding result is of course fantastic they aren't exactly the most endangered species. All that being said I do miss them being on show and wished they still were but of course there are reasons for these things.