The battle for survival for the Ibiza wall lizards

Two Ibiza wall lizards. Photograph: Guillem Casbas

The Ibiza Wall Lizard (Podarcis pityusensis) has been struggling for years in 2022 was moved to Red status on the ICUN listing. These lizards spread across dozens of smaller islands throughout the Pityusic Islands off the Spanish mainland. Originally the the horseshoe whip snake (Hemorrhois hippocrepis) was accidentally imported via Olive trees containing hibernating animals and females incubating eggs. While they have been attempting to control the animals, a recent video proved all the fishing tales true!

Ribboning its way through the turquoise waters that separate the east coast of Ibiza from the islet of Santa Eulària 450 metres away, came a pale and solitary horseshoe whip snake in search of new territory and fresh sustenance.
The arrival of the snake on Santa Eulària, recorded by a local wildlife ranger, confirmed that the insatiable invader from the Spanish mainland – which has almost wiped out Ibiza’s endemic population of dazzlingly coloured wall lizards – had opened up a new front.

The article is awesome, I had no clue there was so many differences in these lizards! Did you know that their color varies from islet? Neither did I! It goes into great detail on how they have attempted to control the population of the whipsnake. So for the rest of the story, please grab a cuppa and kick back and click here for the full article and the video.