It's home to a living fossil

A relict

Barely changed for over 100 million years The tuatara

And half the world's population survive on this one island refuge

During the reign of the dinosaurs

The ancestors of the tuatara were everywhere

They survived the cataclysm that killed off the dinosaurs

But then couldn't compete with the mammals and died out

Everywhere except on what was then a mammalfree New Zealand

Unlike mammals

Tuatara live life in the slow lane

Days can pass when they barely move a muscle

Sometimes taking just one breath an hour

They feed on wetas

Beetles and other invertebrates

But don't appear very good at catching them

Even after millions of years of practice

Eyemouth coordination is not what it could be

Survival of the fittest just doesn't seem to apply here

The tuatara's survival

First on New Zealand

Now on Stephens Island

Proves a point islands are pretty safe places to be

At least until invaded