Tuesday, April 21, 2009

Tuatara



The Nearly Extinct Tuatara

New Zealand is famous for one of the most endangered species – the Tuatara. Lots of people think that the tuatara is a lizard but it is part of the dinosaur family.

Special Features.
Tuataras have an organ called a third eye on top of their head. They have good eyesight. They can camouflage themselves so predators can’t see them. Tuatara have no ear holes but they can still hear.

Food.
Tuatara eat only meat. They eat insects, wetas, lizards and spiders. Tuatara eat eggs, baby birds and even other tuatara. It is a carnivore. A carnivore is something that eats its own kind.

Habitat
Tuatara have lived in New Zealand since the time of the dinosaurs. Tuatara live in burrows. Tuatara are only found on small islands such as Stephens and Brother’s Islands in Cook Strait.

Endangered Status.

Now tuatara are an endangered species found only in New Zealand. They are close to extinction. There are there not many in the wild. Tuatara are mainly extinct because of hawks, hunters and pigs killing them.

Conclusion.
The tuatara is special to New Zealand. We try to protect tuatara from predators because they are one of New Zealand’s reptiles. I wish that I might see one, one day.

By Maiolo F.

2 comments:

Miss Paton said...

Hi Maiolo,

Well done for writing an interesting report on Tuataras. Last week I went to the zoo and saw some Tuataras. I had the very exciting job in finding them as they were camouflaged against the rocks.

Keep up the great work. I love your classes blog.

From Miss Paton

Miss Elia said...

Hi Maiolo
I enjoyed your report on tuataras. They are very interesting creatures.
It was easy to follow your report because of the way you had clear headings. Good on you!