NORTHERN ADVOCATE (Whangarei, New Zealand) 07 July 06 Smugglers feared in raid on rare geckos (Evan Harding)
Endangered geckos stolen from a Whangarei park may be smuggled out of New Zealand and sold for thousands of dollars on the international black market.
Customs officials have been put on alert after four geckos were taken from the Kiwi House at Whangarei Museum and Heritage Park on Wednesday night or early yesterday morning.
The two Northland green geckos and two forest geckos could be worth up to $3000 each on the international black market.
The border alert was initiated by the Department of Conservation shortly after it was discovered the geckos had been snatched from two outside locked cages that had been jemmied open at the Maunu park.
However the thieves did not open a third cage that contained a forest gecko. Security is being beefed up to protect that animal - but about 25,000 annual park visitors will now miss out on seeing the other four specimens, which were one of its major attractions.
"They were very popular with visitors and groups of children because they were unusual," museum director Linda Wigley said.
"They are a part of the natural heritage we are trying to preserve here and now someone has taken it away just like that. It's ruining pleasure for a lot of people."
It was doubtful if they would be replaced in the near future, if ever.
"You have to have a permit from DOC to hold them but they are not that readily available."
Police and the Department of Conservation are investigating the thefts with the help of other agencies. DOC compliance and law enforcement co-ordinator Ross Atkinson said there was a known black market for geckos in overseas countries.
"They are becoming an attractive item for people intent on smuggling species. Europeans tend to like them as pets because they don't take up room in the house," Mr Atkinson said.
It was also possible they had been stolen by locals wanting them as personal pets, he said.
If they were headed overseas, Customs would be waiting for those trying to smuggle them out. "We have our networks and we have alerted our wildlife enforcement people who deal with Customs," Mr Atkinson said.
The park's Kiwi House co-ordinator Kevin Saxton said the stolen geckos were two female Northland green geckos and a male and female forest gecko staff had been encouraging to mate for the last two years, without luck.
DOC Whangarei technical support officer Peter Anderson said the theft of the Northland green geckos in particular was "bad news because they are a threatened species".
"They may want to smuggle them out of the country and get profits that way. Geckos have turned up in the US, Germany, Austria. There's only one way for them to get over there and that's by smuggling them out of New Zealand illegally."
Anybody with information about the stolen geckos can contact Whangarei police on (09) 430-4500.
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