Cook Strait Giant Wetas are a species of giant insects that grow to be 10cm long and around 27 grams heavy. Just so you can get an idea, these bugs are about the size of a city rat. They have been extinct on the mainland of New Zealand for more than a century, but the authorities are trying to reintroduce the species to the area, and the first 100 Wetas have been brought to Kraori Wildlife Sanctuary in Wellington, in 2007.

You may think Giant Wetas are hideous and dangerous but the truth is they are passive creatures that feed on fruit and plant and they are less destructive than their smaller cricket brethren. The Wetas are protected from rats and stoats that led to their extinction 100 years ago.