A little internet search has provided a lot more detail on the striped gecko in the Coromandel. Until 1997 it was only known from two islands in the Pelorus sound. It was a major suprise when an individual turned up at Waiteti Gardens on the northern fringe of Coromandel township nearly 500km north of its known location.
A simple explanation would have been that it was a specimen that had escaped from a local lizard fancier, It is possible to keep NZ lizards if you have an appropriate permit. Exhaustive investigations proved this to be an unlikely explanation. The captive gecko was required to surrender a small portion of it's anatomy for the sake of science. DNA analysis showed it to be significantly different from it's southern relatives. It was a Coromandel cousin. Incredible efforts were made to locate other members of it's whanau. All to no avail.
The captured lizard remained captured. Retained for breeding purposes it eventually died whilst waiting for a mate.
The story is still incomplete. Ten years later, in the same area, a DOC employee, enjoying a barbecue noticed another male striped gecko sunning on a wall. Subsequently a female was found which was very hopeful. Unfortunately it had been the victim of a kingfisher attack and subsequently died. The finds did show that a local population of the gecko did exist and the plan was to release the captured male back into the wild equipped with a location device.
There was a quantity of local publicity and, shortly after, consequent to much searching a female striped gecko was found at Port Charles. Sadly it was dead. These events do suggest that this most secretive creature, probably the rarest gecko in the world does have a wider presence on the Coromandel. It could even occur at Tuateawa!!
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