Tuatara may be stressed around humans

Embargoed until: Publicly released: 2021-09-02 03:00

New Zealand

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Researchers looked at the behaviour of three tuatara living in Wellington Zoo to see what changed during scheduled sessions when visitors were able to briefly pet a tuatara held by a handler. The team found that when visitors were around the tuatara showed signs indicative of stress. Furthermore, the reptiles hid themselves away more or were more inactive after visitor contact compared to days with no visitor contact. The team says the current study can inform how zoos approach programmes that have “ambassador animals” to promote animal welfare.