Wildlife management student Carey Knox releases a jewelled
gecko on Otago Peninsula yesterday. Photo by Stephen
Jaquiery.
Watching a bright green and gold jewelled gecko climb on
to a branch and disappear into the greenery gave their
custodians some satisfaction yesterday.
The gecko was one of 16, including nine which were heavily
pregnant, returned to their home on Otago Peninsula yesterday
after being stolen earlier this year.
Ugandan resident Manfred Walter Bachmann (55) was sentenced
to 15 weeks' jail this month for the crime.
Two co-accused, Swiss national Thomas Price and Spaniard
Gustavo Toledo Albarran, will be sentenced on March 29.
Each gecko was estimated to be worth $2000 on the
international black market.
Only about 700 remain on Otago Peninsula.
The geckos' return was made possible by University of Otago
wildlife management student Carey Knox, whose work counting
and photographing the threatened species on the peninsula
enabled the geckos to be put back in the area from which they
were snatched.
"It feels pretty good. It's the best of a bad situation, but
it would have been better if it had never happened in the
first place," he said yesterday.
He thought the sentence handed down to the Ugandan was a "bit
of a joke".
"They should be much harsher, to put people off coming over
here in the first place."
The geckos arrived yesterday in a cardboard box, each in its
own individual plastic container, and were released by Mr
Knox and Department of Conservation grand skink and Otago
skink programme ranger Lesley Judd.
Ms Judd had overseen their care in quarantine during the past
three weeks. The geckos were screened regularly for
salmonella.
"We didn't know what they had contracted while they were away
and we didn't want them to bring it [salmonella] back,
endangering the resident population."
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