Wētāpunga Recovery Hailed as Conservation Success with Support from Ngāti Manuhiri

A ground-breaking breeding and conservation programme has successfully moved the wētāpunga, or Little Barrier giant wētā, from being nationally endangered to a status of recovering. As reported by 1News and RNZ on 4 October 2026, the project has seen tens of thousands of the ancient insects bred in captivity to safeguard the species' future. Historically, wētāpunga were widespread across Northland and Auckland. However, Department of Conservation data shows that by the 1990s, the only remaining population was found on Te Hauturu-o-Toi / Little Barrier Island. Surveys conducted between 2005 and 2009 revealed that this last remnant population was in poor health and too small to support the direct establishment of new wild colonies. To prevent extinction, a small number of wētā were collected from the island to begin an intensive breeding initiative. Ngāti Manuhiri, the mana whenua of Te Hauturu-o-Toi, supported the recovery efforts. The project also relied on community fundraising and the work of conservationists at Butterfly Creek in Manukau and Auckland Zoo. Dr Chris Green, lead author of a study recently published in the New Zealand Journal of Zoology, noted that Butterfly Creek developed the initial breeding knowledge, which was later refined by Auckland Zoo to rear large numbers in communal creches. Last year, the programme reached a milestone by releasing 11,000 wētāpunga into fenced sanctuaries and predator-free islands. Dr Green described the effort as one of the most comprehensive case studies for invertebrate conservation in Aotearoa. The success of this programme is now providing a blueprint to assist other threatened species, including the critically-endangered Māhoenui giant wētā. Dr Green highlighted that because the species has moved into a recovery phase, it represents a significant benefit to New Zealand’s biodiversity.