Just six years ago, fewer than 100 Sombrero ground lizards (Pholidoscelis corvinus) remained on the tiny Caribbean island they’re named after. Now, thanks to the help of conservationists, they appear to be making a remarkably rapid recovery.
The island of Sombrero, found 54 kilometers (34 miles) off the coast of Anguilla, is only 38 hectares (94 acres) – but even the tiniest of islands can be of critical importance to biodiversity, and this island is no different.
It forms part of a marine reserve and is home to a plethora of rare species found wild nowhere else in the world, including the Sombrero ground lizard.
However, back in 2018, it looked as though that biodiversity was about to disappear. A combination of historical mining, a series of severe hurricanes, and an invasive mice problem had left Sombrero without greenery and brought the ground lizard population to the brink of extinction.
Sombrero before restoration.
Image credit: Jenny Daltry/Re:Wild/Fauna & Flora
“In 2018, following yet another severe hurricane, we feared it might be the end for the Sombrero ground lizard. Fewer than 100 were left and the island was in ruins,” explained Farah Mukhida, Executive Director at the Anguilla National Trust (ANT), in a statement sent to IFLScience.
Then, in 2021, conservation experts from the ANT, Fauna & Flora, and Re:wild teamed up and began a concerted effort to restore the Sombrero ground lizard population and its habitat.
“The past three years have seen painstaking restoration activity, with hands-on efforts by both our international partners and local conservation heroes to remove the invasive pests and restore natural plant cover – not an easy feat on such a remote and rocky island like Sombrero,” said Mukhida.
Those efforts seem to have paid off. A recent survey of the Sombrero ground lizard population has revealed that the population has shot up to more than 1,600 – that’s 16 times what it was back in 2018.
While it’s a rapid and promising rate of recovery, it’s important to note that the lizards aren’t out of the woods just yet – they’re still considered critically endangered.
“This is a remarkable turnaround for this cheeky and charismatic lizard but while we celebrate this recovery, we recognise that there is much more to be done to secure their future and that of other Caribbean wildlife,” said Jenny Daltry, Caribbean Alliance Director, Fauna & Flora and Re:wild, who co-led the ground lizard surveys.
Nonetheless, the lizard’s comeback gives us reason for optimism. “Recoveries, like the one that the Sombrero ground lizard is making, are beacons of hope,” said Justin Springer, Caribbean program officer for Re:wild. “They are proof that if we make the effort to address the threats, nature has an amazing capacity to bounce back.”
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