West Coast Wildlife Centre

Overview

Meet the tuatara. Not a lizard, not a dinosaur but strongly resembling both, this critter is the sole survivor of a lineage dating back to the first dinos. Unique to New Zealand Tuataras can live to 100. They have two rows of teeth on their upper jaws, which overlap one row on the bottom jaw, and they mostly live on islands off the coast of New Zealand. These fascinating reptiles that were once on the New Zealand five cent coin, can be found at the West Coast Wildlife Centre in Franz Josef. The centre is also the official indoor home to the hatching and incubation program of the Rowi Kiwi, New Zealand's rarest kiwi bird.