We had our first sighting of gecko in the Aorangi Forest, recorded just before Christmas 2015 by Ella Buckley.
It is a forest gecko of the genus Mokopirirakau ‘Southern North Island’, which doesn't yet have an official scientific name and is likely to be a different species from forest gecko in other parts of the country.
Geckos are mainly arboreal and usually located on the trunks and branches of trees and shrubs, using retreats irregularly making them vulnerable to mammalian predators.
Photos: Ella Buckley.