Reading Exercise: The Tuatara of New Zealand

Tuatara possess several anatomical features that distinguish them from other living reptiles. For instance, they possess a distinctive pattern of skull openings and a unique form of hemoglobin in their blood. Males lack external reproductive organs. Adult tuatara measure between 30 and 75 centimeters in length and weigh between 250 and 1,200 grams. Males are larger than females and have more pronounced spines along their necks, backs, and tails.

Male tuatara court females with a proud strut. Tuatara mate in late summer, with females typically laying 6-10 eggs the following spring in shallow ground-level nests. The female may guard the nest for several nights before returning to her underground burrow. Eggs incubate for about a year, with hatchlings emerging around the time of the subsequent egg-laying season. Evidence suggests that tuatara hatchling gender is influenced by both genetic and environmental factors. Warmer eggs are more likely to produce male tuatara, while cooler eggs tend to produce females. Hatchlings receive no parental care and must forage for food on their own.

Tuatara have a relatively long lifespan, reaching reproductive maturity around 15 years of age and breeding for many decades thereafter. Although their exact maximum lifespan is uncertain, many tuatara have lived up to 80 years while maintaining robust health. Tuatara inhabit underground burrows and are primarily nocturnal, though they occasionally bask in the sun during the day. Both male and female tuatara are territorial, with males defending their territories aggressively through posturing and, if necessary, combat. Their primary weapons are their teeth, capable of inflicting serious injuries. Tuatara are carnivorous, feeding on invertebrates, lizards, and the nestlings of seabirds with which they often share burrows.

Historically, tuatara were once widespread across mainland New Zealand, but their population sharply declined after Polynesian settlers introduced Pacific rats around 1250-1300 AD, which preyed on tuatara. By the time Europeans settled in the 1840s, tuatara were nearly extinct on the mainland. Initially, some islands provided refuges, but these too eventually faced invasion by rats and other mammalian predators.

Over time, tuatara became confined to 32 islands near the New Zealand coast. These islands varied greatly in size, some as small as one hectare. Notably, the Poor Knights Islands and several islands in Cook Strait host the common tuatara. Efforts to save the Brothers Island tuatara included establishing sanctuaries on Titi Island in the Marlborough Sounds and Somes Island in Wellington Harbour.

Tuatara can form dense populations, with many islands supporting between 50 and 100 tuatara per hectare. Larger islands, rich in seabirds and invertebrates—key components of tuatara diets—may host even denser populations. Stephens Island boasts the largest tuatara population, estimated at up to 2,500 per hectare in some areas, totaling at least 30,000 tuatara across the island. Overall, tuatara numbers across all islands are estimated between 50,000 and 100,000.

Legal protection for tuatara and their island habitats was established in 1895, yet tuatara populations continued to decline. Conservation efforts since then have reversed this trend, with new populations successfully established on predator-free islands. In the mid-1980s, initiatives by the New Zealand Wildlife Service and subsequently the Department of Conservation focused on eradicating rats from tuatara habitats. Today, rats have been eliminated from nearly all tuatara islands, safeguarding these environments for numerous threatened native species. Furthermore, conservationists collect tuatara eggs for incubation, breed them in captivity, and relocate them to rat-free islands like those off Northland's coast or Stephens Island in Cook Strait, which were never invaded by rats and have few mammalian predators. The number of tuatara-inhabited islands has now expanded to 37, with plans for more populations on islands and mainland reserves cleared of predators.

Questions 1 – 6

Do the statements below correspond with the information provided in the Reading Passage?

Record your answers in boxes 1-6 on your answer sheet.

TRUE if the statement agrees with the information

FALSE if the statement contradicts the information

NOT GIVEN if there is no information on this

1  The two living species of tuatara look alike

2  Many of the tuatara bones that have been found are millions of years old.

3 The tails of male tuatara are a different colour from the tails of female tuatara.

4 The female tuatara lays eggs in a burrow.

5 There are higher numbers of female hatchlings than males.

6 Once they have hatched, young tuatara have to look after themselves.

Questions 7-13

Complete the notes below. Choose ONE WORD AND/OR A NUMBER from the passage for each answer

Enter your responses in boxes 7-13 on your answer sheet.

The tuatara

Lifespan

• maximum lifespan unknown
• many live to at least 7…  years old

Activity

• attack other creatures with their 8 …
• eat young 9 … that live in the same burrows, invertebrates and reptiles

Population

• abundant until rats were introduced by 10 … people
• by the 1840s, hardly any tuatara found on the 11 …
• islands off the north-eastern coast and in Cook Strait now home to the 12  …tuatara

• Brothers Island tuatara found on North Brother Island
• density of tuatara on Stephens Island is up to 13…  tuatara for every hectare

Protection of the species

• tuatara population dropped until rats eradicated from islands
• eggs were gathered by the Department of Conservation

Answers: 

1. TRUE (Đoạn 1, “Although the tuatara species appear similar, they have genetic differences. Although the tuatara species appear similar, they have genetic differences.”

2. FALSE (Đoạn 1, “When dated, they are usually a few hundred to 5,000 years old.”)

3. NOT GIVEN (Không có thông tin)

4. FALSE (Đoạn 2, “… in a shallow nest at ground level. She may guard the nest for a few nights, then return to her burrow underground.”)

5. NOT GIVEN (Không có thông tin)

6. TRUE (Đoạn 3, “The hatchlings receive no parental care and need to find their own food.”)

7. 80 (Đoạn 4, “Their maximum lifespan is not known for certain, but many tuatara have reached 80 years still looking vigorous and healthy.”)

8. Teeth (Đoạn 4, “ Teeth are their main weapons, and a bite can cause serious injury.”)

9. Seabirds (Đoạn 4, “Tuatara are carnivorous, eating invertebrates, lizards and the baby seabirds with which they often share burrows.”)

10. Polynesian (Đoạn 5, “…but when Polynesian settlers arrived in New Zealand, in about 1250-1300 AD, they brought with them Pacific rats which killed tuatara.”)

11. Mainland (Đoạn 5,  “…in the 1840s, tuatara were almost extinct on the New Zealand mainland.”)

12. Common (Đoạn 6, “A few, such as the Poor Knights common tuatara lives on islands off the north-eastern coast of New Zealand, and on some islands in Cook Strait.”)