Wētāpunga or Little Barrier Island giant wētā ( Deinacrida heteracantha : Orthoptera: Anostostomatidae) underwent significant decline across Northland and Auckland, New Zealand, and by mid‐20th Century was restricted to Te Hauturu‐o‐Toi/Little Barrier Island. However, surveys of wētāpunga during the early 1990s reported low numbers and concerns that the population was declining. Subsequently, a recovery plan specified the need for at least four wild populations. After Pacific rat ( Rattus exulans ) eradication from Te Hauturu‐o‐Toi in 2004, the abundance of wētāpunga was resurveyed annually for 5 years from 2005 with low detection rates. Here we report the establishment of two ex situ colonies using cohorts of 12 individuals collected from Te Hauturu‐o‐Toi every 3–5 years. Over 11,000 wētāpunga were produced for translocations from 2010. Ten new populations have been founded on eight predator‐free islands and inside two predator‐proof fenced areas on the mainland. Post‐release monitoring on Motuora and Tiritiri Matangi Islands has verified fourth‐ or fifth‐generation individuals at two release areas on each island. Ranked as Nationally Endangered in the New Zealand Threat Classification System at the start of the recovery programme the threat ranking for wētāpunga has improved to Nationally Recovering.