The kawekaweau was once thought to be a myth, as it lived deep in the forested areas of the North Island of New Zealand. In fact the only account of the giant gecko came from a Maori chief who found one under the bark of a dead rata in the Waimana valley. This one primary source from 1870 is the only one there is. Alain Delcourt found the only known specimen of the kawekaweau in the depths of the Natural History Museum in Marseille, France in 1986. In 1990, the specimen was delivered back to the Natural History Museum in Wellington, New Zealand. It is believed that invasive species brought by Europeans could have led to the extinction of Delcourt's giant gecko, though no one knows for sure. Although Jurassic Park is fiction, scientists are working on several de-extinction projects. In fact, in 2003 scientists did bring back the extinct Pyrenean ibex, a type of wild goat, for 7 minutes before it died, showing de-extinction is possible. The Kawekaweau might be a candidate. Scientists would potentially use DNA from the one and only specimen that was found in 1986 in the basement of the Natural History Museum of Marseille, in France. France sent this specimen to the National Museum in Wellington, New Zealand in 1990. While it was tested for possible DNA in 1994 without good results, technology has vastly improved since then. If the Delcourt's giant gecko was brought back from extinction could it survive in New Zealand? With this species, it is hard to say since so little is known about its diet, needed habitat, or anything else. New Zealand has fought back against invasive species and helped to revive some of it native animal populations, so maybe the kawekaweau could be more than a mythical creature once more.