The male gecko, which will be housed at the Otago Museum, is the first wildlife poached from New Zealand to be successfully repatriated.
The gecko was one of two smuggled from the peninsula about 2010.
In 2013, Dunedin herpetologist Carey Knox identified one of the smuggled geckos on Facebook using a photo which he took of it several years before the incident.
Mr Knox said the rare lizard came to the attention of German authorities and the Wildlife Enforcement Group after a German national uploaded photos to Facebook of the lizard, which had markings unique to the Otago Peninsula jewelled gecko. He believed the geckos would have been smuggled in the man’s luggage and sold on the lucrative exotic pet trade market.
Yesterday, the gecko was welcomed to its purpose-built enclosure at the museum by Te Runanga o Otakou and museum and Department of Conservation staff.
Otago Museum director Ian Griffin said he was "honoured" to provide a home for the gecko, which could not be returned to the Otago Peninsula because of the biosecurity risk it posed to other animals.
Former Department of Conservation national compliance manager Geoff Owen said the gecko’s story served as a reminder New Zealand was not immune to international wildlife smuggling.
In 2013 New Zealand spearheaded efforts to strengthen protection for jewelled geckos under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora.
The change gave authorities more power to investigate suspected poaching.
The well-travelled gecko could be viewed by the public in its purpose-built terrarium on level 1 of the museum.
