The heaviest insect in New Zealand is coming back

Fifteen years ago, the wētāpunga — a giant cricket-like insect as heavy as a sparrow — clung to a single island off New Zealand’s coast. Zoos and conservationists bred tens of thousands of them, carried 11,000 to ten new wild spots, and now the species’ official status has climbed from ‘Nationally Endangered’ to ‘Nationally Increasing.’ On two islands, at least four generations have been born in the wild — the international sign that the newcomers are truly home. The Māori tribe Ngāti Manuhiri, guardians of the insect, stood behind the program from the start.