Mercury Islands tusked weta.

The Mercury Islands tusked wētā is an amazing creature.  Not discovered until the early 1970’s this unique critter was only found on one small pest-free island.  In the early 1990’s the species was recognised as declining. 

Pete’s first real island conservation work was searching for the Mercury Islands tusked wētā (and translocating skinks) in 1995.  In 1998 three were found for a captive breeding project, one male and two females. The captive rearing was successful and tusked wētā were translocated to other Mercury Islands.

Between 1986 and 2014 the amount of pest-free area in the Mercury Islands increased from 16ha to over 2,200ha with Pete project managing the eradication of rats and feral cats off the largest island, Ahuahu 1,872 ha, in 2014. Mercury Islands tusked wētā are now save on seven islands.

The Mercury Islands tusked wētā is a great conservation story as a long term project with amazing collaborations and contributions, learning and adaptive management and a belief that you can make a difference. It’s for these reasons the Mercury Islands tusked wētā is the species flagship for Quality Conservation.