Weta, Deinacrida Hemideina, native forest Coromandel New Zeeland NZ Nord Island

These Weta (Deinacrida, Hemideina) we spotted in the native forest of Coromandel NZ Nord Island.
It is one of the world's most ancient species still living today.
Any species surviving for such a very long time, outliving dinosaurs and making it through ice ages, has to be pretty tough. When turn of the 20th century naturalist Sir Walter Buller needed dead weta for his collection, he kept one under water for four days. Incredibly, it kept living, as did another that was dropped in near boiling water. OUCH! It is known that weta can survive in freezing climate conditions, despite their lack of an antifreeze agent that other animals have to tolerate cold.
Today the biggest ennemy for the Weta is de Rat.
The rat eats the weta raw and also the native birds and there egs.

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• Weta
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• NZ
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• Island
• biggest
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• grashopper

[xBoombox100x]

That gives me chills :S.