Special+Features

= ** //What are the special features of the Tuatara?// ** =

Weird and wonderful facts about tuatara • They can hold their breath for an hour. • Tuatara grow very slowly and stop growing when they are 35 years old. • They can live to be over 100 years old. • Tuatara are cold-blooded, which means their temperature changes with the air temperature. • They are nocturnal and prefer cool weather. They will often bask in the sun to warm their bodies, but they are careful not over-heat. • When the nights are warm they come out to hunt for food – mainly insects, lizards, seabird eggs and chicks. • Young Tuatara hunt for their food in the day to avoid being eaten by an adult at night! • Their colour ranges are olive green then to brown and then orangeish-red and can change colour over lifetime! • They shed their skin once a year. • They often live in old burrows previously dug by seabirds. (But they are not likely to share with birds.) It might bite off baby bird’s head if it was hungry • They use something called a ‘egg tooth’ which is a spike on the end of their snout to break out of their egg. The ‘egg tooth’ will fall off during the first three weeks of its life. • The male Tuatara has distinctive crest spines running along their neck down and down the back which can fan out to attract females or when fighting other males. The Tuatara are amazing creatures. If we protect them they will survive and not become extinct.

Wow! The Tuatara have some amazing features!