Saturday, March 7, 2009

Chief of Ugliness

Weta @ Hukawai Glacier Centre, Franz Josef. Feb 2009. Ajr
I photographed this weta at Hukawai Glacier Centre in Franz Josef, South Westland a couple of weeks ago. It's bigger than it looks. It's actually a giant 'plastic-sort-of'creation that adorns one of their interior walls. Mind you, real wetas can also be giant (but we're talking inches here, not feet). We have over 70 species of weta endemic to New Zealand - none of them pretty; all of them sporting horrible spiky legs and nasty mandibles, which are their main defence mechanisms. They're one of my pet fears; I loathe them.

1 comment:

Kim... said...

ooh - i'm originally from west coast and i certainly don't miss those little suckers!!

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