Lizards rescued from the path of a New Zealand highway get a new home this week in a sanctuary designed for them.
Once the 66 adult geckos have had a chance to try out their new home, additional juveniles will be released, the New Zealand Herald reports.
The dawn release planned for Friday includes a Maori ceremony because the geckos were recovered from an area that had been ancestral land.
The sanctuary in Tawharanui Regional Park near Warkworth has been specially prepared with the planting of trees and eradication of animals that prey on the lizards, including rats and stoats. Small concrete shelters have also been provided, although the geckos may prefer to live in holes in the rocks.
"With all the pest control and tree-planting and the fact that there is still going to be maintained farmland, it should be gecko paradise," said Graham Ussher, a reptile expert.
The geckos recovered from the area where a toll highway extension is under construction include 12 threatened Auckland green geckos and the more common gray and brown forest geckos.
© Copyright 2005 by United Press International
