Five tiny awakōpaka skinks born at Auckland Zoo are growing

Five young awakōpaka skinks born at Auckland Zoo are alive and growing, in what the zoo says is the first time the species has reproduced outside the wild. The zoo reported on October 20, 2026, that two further births by females brought in from Fiordland left it with 14 of the lizards: five juveniles and nine adults. Nine births have happened at the zoo since April 2025. From three females, five offspring have survived. At birth they weighed 0.32 to 0.42 grams. The young are born able to run and hide.

Awakōpaka were described in 2014. The zoo said only 20 individuals have been recorded, and it called the species nationally critical. The wild site is the Homer Saddle in Fiordland, a field of shifting boulders. The zoo is keeping the animals with the Department of Conservation and Ngāi Tahu. Ectotherm curator Don McFarlane said mice in beech-mast years are the pressure pushing the lizard toward extinction, which is why females were brought in. Lead keeper Sonja Murray said the first filmed birth, from the first salvaged female, was the first ever recorded.

McFarlane said the zoo will soon try to pair adult males and females and plans DNA testing with UNITEC to see who is related before those pairings are chosen. The sex of the juveniles is not confirmed yet. Those steps are ahead. The checked result is the births and the five surviving young in a climate-controlled room, not a larger population on the mountain.