THE DISAPPEARING TUATARA
IN that picturesque group of islets a few miles offshore from Whakatane, the Rarimas are known mainly for the fact that they constitute one of the last points of sanctuary for that rare and remarkable reptile, the Tuatara lizard. Time was (and not too distant either) when the lizards abounded on all four of the rocky islands, sharing in accepted fashion the burrows of the mutton . birds. Today they are to be found only on the most southerly, a rocky outcrop approximately half a mile south of the main group. A party of visitors there discovered three large well-de-veloped specimens on a recent Saturday, proving that the lizards still inhabit the island and gre apparently far from extinct. The point we wish to makfe is that unless this island is declared a strict sanctuary, there is little chance of it continuing to enjoy its unique reputation as the home of the fast disappearing Tuatara—the reptile which enjoys a world-wide reputation and is recognised as one of the few remaining links with the pre-historic past.
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https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/BPB19470108.2.16
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Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 10, Issue 70, 8 January 1947, Page 4
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177THE DISAPPEARING TUATARA Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 10, Issue 70, 8 January 1947, Page 4
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