5 Sep 2024

What a swab from a tuatara's guts can tell you

From Nights, 10:30 pm on 5 September 2024

You think getting your housecat to take worming tablets is hard. Try swabbing the guts of an ancient reptile.

Carmen Hoffback has tried it - in fact, it's her job. Carmen is a microbiologist at the University of Auckland specialising in the gut microbiome of the mighty tuatara.

She joins Emile Donovan.

Carmen stands in front of a river wearing a puffer jacket. She smiles. Mountains rise into the distance.

Photo: Supplied