A tiny lizard found only on one tiny Caribbean island has seen a dramatic 1,500% increase in its population, after just a few years of island restoration efforts. In 2018, researchers estimated there were fewer than 100 individuals of the critically endangered Sombrero ground lizard (Pholidoscelis corvinus) on the small hat-shaped Sombrero Island, part of Anguilla in the Caribbean. Just six years later, there are more than 1,600 of them, a recent survey has found. “I am beyond thrilled to see the ground lizards on the road to recovery, and this is a fantastic reward for everyone who has worked hard to restore Sombrero,” Jenny Daltry, Caribbean alliance director at conservation NGOs Fauna & Flora and Re:wild, told Mongabay. “Too many island species have been lost already, and we really need to prevent extinctions whenever we can.” Today, Sombrero Island hosts large seabird colonies and several unique and rare species. But invading mice, likely brought to the island on ships or other means by people, as well as climate change impacts, have wreaked havoc on the island’s inhabitants. When mice take over islands, they devour almost everything, from seeds to seabirds, Daltry said. “By preventing plants from regenerating, the mice deprived the lizards of vital shelter and food, including fruits and insects. No doubt they also preyed on the lizards’ eggs and young.” With native vegetation in a precarious state, storm surges and hurricanes striking the island further devasted the island’s lizard populations. To turn things around, Fauna & Flora,…This article was originally published on Mongabay
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