The Regional Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and the Environment, through the Consortium for the Recovery of the Fauna of the Balearics (Cofib), has launched a video to raise public awareness of the threat posed by invasive snakes to the conservation of the Pityusic lizard. According to a statement issued by the Regional Ministry on Tuesday, the publication aims to raise awareness among both residents and tourists of the delicate situation of this species, which is endemic and native to Ibiza and Formentera, as well as the seriousness of the snake invasion on the islets where lizard populations live.
The publication is part of the various actions carried out by the government and is part of the project for the control and eradication of different invasive species in habitats and geographical locations, being financed by the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan of the Recovery and Resilience Mechanism (PRTR-MRR), with funds from Next Generation EU. The video emphasises the need to notify Cofib if snakes are seen in order to prevent them from colonising new areas. The audiovisual publication is available in Catalan, Spanish and English.
Since 2022, within the framework of the aforementioned project, other actions have been carried out to control invasive species that threaten the fauna and flora of the Balearics. Thus, biosecurity actions have been included that involve surveillance on all the Pitiusan islets to ensure that snakes or other invasive species (such as rodents) have not arrived, in addition to the visual censusing of lizards using the new boat acquired with Next Generation EU funds.
If invasive species are found, the Government’s Species Protection Service must be notified and urgent action is taken to control the invasion. Some islets in Mallorca, where snakes have already arrived, are also being checked and monitored. Similarly, control of the raccoon in the Serra de Tramuntana, in Mallorca, has been intensified with the acquisition of 150 cages and 85 photo-detection cameras and the reinforcement of the field team with a full-time person and a vehicle.
Furthermore, seven urban reserves have been created for the Pitiusan lizards with the support of the town councils and the local governments of Ibiza and Formentera. In each reserve, 30 artificial refuges for the lizards and explanatory signs have been installed and 400 native plants that they feed on have been planted. The dangers to be avoided have been identified, especially the presence of predators such as cats and snakes.
This year, the government has announced that the tender for the rat extermination of the islets of Tagomago, Es Vedrá and Es Vedranell, in Ibiza, and S’Espalmador, in Formentera, is in the pipeline, to improve the survival of the populations of seabirds that nest on these islets, especially the endemic Balearic shearwater.
There are also plans to eradicate invasive flora on the islet of S’Espardell, in Formentera, where there are 1.5-hectare patches of cactus spurge (Disphima sp.), 500 feet of prickly pear cactus (Opuntia sp.), several dozen century plants (Agave americana) and about 70 square metres of highway ice (Carpobrotus edulis).
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So much for the rat extermination on Tagomago, I hear German tax cheat Matthias Kühn still lives there.