The rebellion of the last lizards: "There won't be any left in two or three years"

IbizaLet's start with the conclusion: the protection of the Balearic lizard has failed; the snake invasion – first detected in Ibiza in 2003 – has been fatal for the most emblematic animal species of the Pitiusas Islands. In Ibiza, the lizard has disappeared from 90% of the territory; it has "two or three years left", according to Dr. Antònia Maria Cirer, a pioneer in the study of this reptile and a leading critic of the protection policies adopted by the Government. On the International Union for Conservation of Nature's Red List, the Balearic lizard currently appears as a species "in danger of extinction" and in rapid decline, with a "marginal" and "fragmented" population distribution. On the ground, almost any farmer in Ibiza will tell you that for years they haven't seen any of the lizards that, in the past, populated the traditional dry stone walls, a centuries-old symbiosis between humans and these animals.

"The Government's thesis was that the lizards would adapt and an equilibrium would be reached", explains the biologist. A kind of technical draw. The problem is that this only happened in the imagination of some government official. On the contrary, the lack of clear and decisive action by the competent administration – the Balearic Directorate General of Natural Heritage –, the delay in controlling the arrival of centenary olive trees in Ibiza – a highly sought-after item by the owners of sumptuous villas and the entry route for snakes – and the lack of free traps for snakes, as well as their inadequate distribution, have caused the Balearic lizard to be on the verge of entering the heavenly territory of extinct species. A cumulative set of wrong decisions and negligence that makes your hair stand on end, just as if a snake were running up your arm. According to Antònia Maria Cirer, at the Coma warehouses in Ibiza, there are still a couple of hundred snake traps gathering dust, because those responsible for distributing them have not known how to do so until now.

Small reserves

The official thesis from the Government is that this snake business was more or less inevitable. Resignation. There is a group of Ibizans who do not see it that way. Behind the Sargantana Power movement is a group of farmers and residents with a single demand: that refuges be allowed to be built on private properties, small reserves for the lizards, so that the animal can live in its natural habitat, but protected from snakes with a specific type of fencing. “They tell us we have to get used to living with snakes, that we have to resign ourselves,” explains Marilina Serra Cardona, spokesperson for the collective. “We say no: we want to save the lizards and we have to focus on those that remain.” Marilina Serra lives in the area between Santa Eulària and Sant Joan, not far from Sant Llorenç, one of the first areas affected by the extinction; she currently has eight snake traps on her property. This means a huge amount of work, just feeding the eight mice that act as bait and eliminating the snakes that fall into the traps. “Maybe you don't see them, but they are there; so far this summer we have already caught a dozen.”

In response to this collective's proposal, the director general of Natural Environment, Anna Torres, has given a “resounding no.” The reason the Government gives is that, by confining the lizards in a small space, there could be genetic problems caused by inbreeding. A surprising response, when one of the Administration's latest actions has been precisely to create a small reserve for lizards on the public property of Can Marines, in Ibiza. In reality, what this group of Ibizans is proposing is the same thing, but on a private scale and under the Administration's supervision, to prevent anyone from profiting from the breeding of Podarcis pityusensis. “We believe that if we are experiencing an exceptional situation, we also need exceptional actions,” states Marilina Serra. “The lizards must be in their home; the lizard must be safe, in the gardens and on the stone walls where it has always been.” Serra assures that, for now, they do not intend to register as an association, because they are not “in it for the subsidies.” “In any case, if we see that things continue the same, we are considering calling a demonstration after the summer,” assures the spokesperson. “But we would prefer not to have to resort to that.”

Antònia Maria Cirer believes that the proposal to create refuges on private properties “can be maximally effective”. “Five or ten years ago we were in a different scenario,” continues the Doctor of Biology. “It made sense to encourage everyone to set traps; if only there had been 10,000, but that didn't happen. Now we are in a new phase, it’s about saving the maximum number of samples, small or large”. For this reason, a sample of lizards has already traveled to the Barcelona zoo, where they are bred in captivity. “But here the lizards would be in their own habitat,” remarks the biologist. “Feeding on the same insects, the same seeds, and the same pollen that has served as their food for centuries.” Cirer recalls that the lizard has managed to survive in extraordinarily small habitats and in very complicated circumstances. She gives as an example the islet of Dau Gros, at the exit of the port of Ibiza: a group of rocks 791 square meters, 8 meters high, permanently battered by the sea. According to the biologist, it has a “stable and vigorous” population of lizards and no genetic problems. “Many islets where lizards live are smaller than many house gardens”.

According to Antònia Maria Cirer, in the next two or three years the Pitiusa lizard will have practically disappeared as wild fauna; they will remain in the refuges that are built and in some enclaves in urban areas, where snakes have more difficulty accessing. Since snakes can swim, the lizard populations on the islets will also gradually become extinct, as has already been recorded in some islets. This is the immediate future of the Pitiusa lizard, the reptile that has been lord and master of the Pitiuses for the last 5.3 million years. This means that the Podaris pityusensis has survived several glaciations and significant sea-level changes. We will see if it survives political ineffectiveness.