Welcoming a new cohort of Mahoenui giant wētā

MEDIA RELEASE
Source: The Department of Conservation
Wednesday 27 August 2025

Mahoenui giant wētā translocation marks species protection milestone

The translocation of 193 Mahoenui giant wētā today from the Ōtorohanga Kiwi House to Sanctuary Mountain Maungatautari is a significant milestone in ongoing efforts to protect this critically endangered species.

The Māhoenui giant wētā is one of the world's largest insects, measuring up to 7cm and weighing approximately 15gms. Originating from one site in the North Island and only present at three other North Island locations, they are classified as "Nationally Critical" and face serious threats.

DOC staff have been working closely with counterparts from Ōtorohanga Kiwi House – where there is a captive breeding programme and specially built laboratories – and Sanctuary Mountain Maungatautari on the translocation, which follows translocations to the sanctuary in 2012-13.

"Today's translocation reflects just how successful Ōtorohanga Kiwi House's captive breeding programme has been," says DOC Senior Biodiversity Planner Amanda Haigh.

"Releasing the precious offspring of captive wētā into a natural habitat at Maungatautari – free of predators and threats – is really rewarding for those involved. Our hope is they breed with offspring of those Māhoenui giant wētā released at Maungatautari in 2012-13."

Amanda says the support of Ngāti Maniapoto and Ngāti Koroki Kahukura has been vital for the captive breeding programme, with the wētā seen as taonga species for both iwi.

"To have our iwi partners providing guidance on the appropriate tikanga for the handover of the wētā from Ngāti Maniapoto to Ngāti Koroki Kahukura demonstrates the partnership which has made this translocation possible."

The tono (request) of this taonga to Maungatautari reflects the shared kaitiakitanga and enduring relationship between Ngāti Koroki Kahukura and Maniapoto. It strengthens iwi connection to the whenua and collective commitment to restoring balance to the ngahere.

Sanctuary Mountain Maungatautari CEO Helen Hughes echoed the importance of collaboration.

"This translocation of Māhoenui giant wētā to Sanctuary Mountain Maungatautari is a powerful example of what can be achieved through strong conservation partnerships and collaboration.

"Working alongside iwi, the Department of Conservation and Ōtorohanga Kiwi House, we're proud to support the recovery of this nationally significant species and once again contribute to the protection of Aotearoa's unique biodiversity."

The nocturnal animals were released by experienced wētā handlers into pre-selected locations across Maungatautari.

Ōtorohanga Kiwi House Wildlife Manager Mathew Ronaldson says each wētā underwent thorough health checks and individual monitoring to maximise survival and successful adaptation to the wild habitat. The captive breeding programme is the only one of its kind for this species, with every wētā released at Maungatautari the result of a carefully managed and intensive multi-year effort.

"The programme began in 2021 with founder individuals transferred from the Mahoenui Scientific Reserve, laying the foundation for a long-term recovery plan," he says.

"Specialist wētā husbandry techniques have been developed at OKH, including artificial incubation, climate-controlled environments, species-specific diets, and custom-designed enclosures mimicking the wētā natural behaviours."

Learn more:

• The Mahoenui giant wētā is one of the world's largest insects, measuring up to 7cm and weighing approximately 15gms, with two different colour morphs – brown and yellow.

• Monitoring of wētā in the Mahoenui Scientific Reserve, southwest of Te Kuiti, shows numbers have been in serious decline since 2012. The source (and only natural) population are endemic to this reserve, in the southern King Country.

• The captive breeding programme responds to that decline, with the intention of breeding hundreds of weta for release at other protected sites.

Photo credit: Lucy Schultz

Read more in the Waikato Herald

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Sanctuary Mountain Maungatautari media contact:

Tali Jellyman
tali@maungatrust.org
0275298367

By Tali Jellyman

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