Burned Northland gecko on road to recovery

A protected Northland green gecko has suffered severe burns to all four of its feet after fires in the area.

On the road to recovery, the gecko is bearing the scars of a scrub fire that swept through Potou Peninsula near Whangarei.

With burns to all four of its feet, he was lucky that was the only damage done.

The gecko suffered the burns after fires were lit a few days ago but it's proving to be quite the fighter.

"Normally those little feet would be open like that but as you can see he can't open any of them up," says Whangarei Native Bird Recovery Centre co-founder Robert Webb.

Mr Webb has been tasked with looking after him.

 And as walking proves to be a struggle, he thinks it's unlikely the gecko will be able to return to the bush.

"It's just so sad to see something that beautiful may not be able to go back into the wild, it may even have to be put to sleep at some stage I don't know yet."

While the gecko can still walk, movement is heavily restricted meaning he won't be able to hunt for food.

And that means his new home will likely be in captivity.

"If there's someone who has some sort of breeding programme and has these little critters, it might be Wellington Zoo or Auckland Zoo then there's a possibility he could survive in captivity and produce offspring," he says.

But this is one of the lucky ones, there are likely hundreds more who perished in the fire.

And Mr Webb is urging the people lighting these fires to stop and think about the wider implications of what they're doing.

"People don't realise it's not just long grass they're burning, it's habitat for things like this."

But geckos can survive a long time - some live as long as 42 years. But given what this one's been through, he's sure to be taking life one tentative step at a time.

Newshub.