‘Privileged’ to work alongside tuatara
Emeritus Prof Alison Marion Cree
Alison Cree says people make good company, but longliving tuatara are great companions if you are lucky enough to work with them.
The 63yearold retired University of Otago zoology emeritus professor has been awarded a CNZM for services to herpetology — in particular, for her work with tuatara.
She said it felt unusual to study an animal that had a longer lifespan than hers.
‘‘In a way, I feel privileged to work alongside an animal that has quite a similar life history to humans, in terms of the time to maturity and potential lifespan.
‘‘It’s been a great opportunity to work alongside particular individual tuatara and get to know them over a decade or more and get to know their personalities.
‘‘It feels like they’ve been companions in my life, actually.’’
Unlike most King’s Birthday Honours recipients, Prof Cree said she viewed the honour with some ‘‘trepidation’’.
‘‘Being singled out feels quite uncomfortable.
‘‘But it also feels like a wonderful opportunity to celebrate the fascinating creatures — the reptilian taonga, in particular — that I have shared my working life with.’’
The leading zoologist and herpetologist has worked for decades to enhance conservation outcomes for herpetofauna.
She helped found the Society for Research on Amphibians and Reptiles in New Zealand in 1987, bringing together scientists, conservation managers and the community, to achieve research outcomes and projects to advance understanding of New Zealand’s herpetofauna.
She served as president, vicepresident, treasurer, secretary and council member with the organisation during her 34year involvement.
She coordinated the transfer of tuatara from Cook Strait, in which Ngati Koata escorted their taonga tuatara into the care of Kati Huirapa Runaka ki Puketeraki.
She has also been a member of the Department of Conservation’s Tuatara Recovery Group for more than 28 years, and coauthored the first Tuatara Recovery Plan.
In 2014, she released a book titled Tuatara — biology and conservation of a venerable survivor, which provides guidance on best practice field protocol and captive breeding guidelines for tuatara.
It also ensures the place of tuatara as taonga and honours the role of Maori as kaitiaki.
Prof Cree has published more than
135 scientific papers and has contributed to more than 100 reports, magazine articles and presentations.
Alongside her research work, she has also been a member of the University of Otago’s Kaiawhina Maori network, running multiple workshops and training sessions to integrate the Maori strategic framework into departmental practice. — John Lewis