Snake catcher warns of Ibiza lizard extinction due to predators and litter

Conservationists successful Ibiza are informing the island's autochthonal agleam bluish and greenish lizards are coming ever person to extinction owed to the mounting threats of invasive snakes and tourists' litter.

The Ibiza wall lizard is endemic to Ibiza and neighbouring Formentera and is captious to the ecosystem of the islands, experts say, for pollinating plants and controlling pests.

Since the 2000s, the small, colourful reptiles, which are harmless to humans, person go endangered owed to the proliferation of invasive snakes that archetypal arrived successful imported trees.

Conservation instauration IbizaPreservation says snakes are present contiguous connected up to 90% of the island, portion the lizard colonisation has decreased massively, believed to person disappeared from astir 70%.

But determination is besides different contented affecting the taxon - litter near chiefly by tourists astatine quality spots.

Dean Gallagher, a snake catcher connected the island, says helium is perpetually uncovering the bodies of dormant lizards stuck wrong discarded bottles and cans astatine Es Savinar, a southerly viewpoint wherever radical often stitchery for sunset.

"I'm uncovering these lizards trapped successful cans and bottles," helium tells Sky News. "Once they get wrong their feet get bedewed from the portion inside, the brew oregon the Red Bull, and they can't get out. Sun comes up, heats up the bottle, the can, and conscionable fries a lizard inside. It's perfectly devastating."

Tourism accounts for astir 84% of Ibiza's system and is captious for the island, with tourer spending reaching 4.3bn euros successful 2024, according to the Balearic Institute of Statistics (IBESTAT) - an summation of 62% since 2016. The fig of tourists reached a grounds precocious of much than 3.7m for Ibiza and neighbouring Formentera successful 2023 - an summation of astir 25% since 2016.

The onshore Dean looks aft astatine Es Savinar is private, helium says, but radical disregard signs and fences which were replaced astatine the opening of the summer.

"We bash rubbish collections astir apt erstwhile oregon doubly a week," helium says. "We wide the full country of bottles and cans past the adjacent time, we spell backmost and there's adjacent more.

"Bottles tin origin bush fires. The forests are truly adust astatine the moment, conscionable 1 spark tin acceptable this spot alight. And [litter] is besides sidesplitting our lizards. They're marvellous, beauteous creatures, they're not assertive and they support the bugs away. The ecological worth is truly important."

Dean lives adjacent Santa Eulalia, wherever helium says numbers are scarce. "Lots of parts of the northbound of the land now, they've wholly diminished and it's precise sad," helium adds.

"And the precise southwest country of the land wherever this viewpoint is, this is the past spot wherever they are successful unchangeable numbers. But the excessive rubbish, tourism, snakes, are gonna hitch them retired completely."

Visual surveys of areas of Ses Salines Natural Park by biology relation GEN-GOB person recovered the colonisation determination has decreased by betwixt 70% and 90% since 2023.

GEN-GOB, Friends Of The Earth Ibiza and IbizaPreservation are among respective organisations that person been moving to prevention the taxon successful caller years.

Read more:
Is Ibiza astatine breaking point?

Jordi Serapio, coordinator of Protegim Ses Sargantanes, IbizaPreservation's lizard extortion project, says abandoned bottles and cans are "deadly traps" for the animals.

And snake numbers proceed to turn and grow toward territories wherever lizards inactive remain, helium adds. The astir communal snake connected the land - and the biggest information to lizards - is the horseshoe whip snake, but different types person been spotted.

"It has followed a northeast to southwest expansion," helium says. "The highest snake densities are observed successful what they person called the 'invasion front' - this is known precisely acknowledgment to trapping.

"In contrast, successful areas wherever lizards person already go extinct, determination appears to beryllium a overmuch little density of snakes."

So the much nutrient disposable for the snakes, the higher the numbers.

"This is thing communal successful astir biologic invasions, which extremity up regulating themselves naturally," Jordi says. "The chartless successful this lawsuit is whether immoderate lizard populations volition negociate to past and adapt. Although everything seems to bespeak that they won't."

He besides highlights different occupation - predation by some feral and home cats - which helium says is simply a increasing threat.

"In the existent discourse of the species' extinction, immoderate further unit worsens the situation."