Reptile

Tag: Reptile

Duvaucel’s Gecko Returns to New Zealand Mainland

New Zealand’s biggest native gecko is returning to the mainland after a 100-year absence. The Duvaucel’s Gecko is New Zealand’s biggest gecko–but it’s not big enough to ward off invasive predators. This native New Zealand species experienced extreme decline due to the presence of invasive species in its habitat. Now, after 100 years of absence, […]

Written by on December 15, 2016

Goat Islands, Important Iguana Habitat SAVED

The Goat Islands, home to many threatened and endemic species including the Jamaican Rock Iguana, have been saved! Last week when I opened my email I received one of the greatest messages ever: protection for Jamaican Rock Iguana habitat on the Goat Islands had been assured! The Goat Islands are part of the Portland Bight […]

Written by on October 6, 2016

Bernie Tershy: In the Midst of an Extinction Crisis, There is Hope

Island Conservation’s co-founder Bernie Tershy reflects on how island restoration programs serve to protect biodiversity and prevent extinctions. An uninterrupted stream of bad news about the environment reminds us that we are in the midst of an extinction crisis, which can leave us overwhelmed with hopelessness. But, hope is not as scarce as you might […]

Written by on September 28, 2016

Four Baby Giant Tortoises Discovered on Seychelles’ Curieuse Island

Four baby Giant Tortoises were found on Curieuse Marine National Park. Curieuse is one of the Inner Islands Group of the Seychelles Islands. The baby tortoises are an uplifting sign for conservationists, who lost four years of captive breeding efforts and care when 25 of their 28 baby tortoises were stolen from their nursery. The baby […]

Written by on September 2, 2016

New Lizard Species Discovered in the Dominican Republic

The discovery of a new lizard species in the Dominican Republic by University of Toronto researchers reinforces a theory that lizard communities evolve almost identically on separate islands.  A team from University of Toronto (U of T) has recently discovered a new species of lizard in the Dominican Republic (DR). The Greater Antillean Anole, Anolis landestoyi, is the first […]

Written by on July 1, 2016

Malinoa and Motu Tapu Islands Restoration Success in the News

Loop Tonga recently covered our successful operation to protect native biodiversity on the islands of Malinoa and Motu Tapu in Tonga, Polynesia by removing invasive rats. The project to restore Malinoa and Motu Tapu was carried out by the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP), Island Conservation and the Government of Tonga. On May 24, 2016, the partners […]

Written by on June 3, 2016

Conservationists Boost Blue Iguana Population

Blue Iguanas, threatened by invasive species, were downlisted from “Critically Endangered” to “Endangered” thanks to conservation efforts. What could possibly put a 5-foot long, 25-lb giant reptile on the Critically Endangered species list? How could the largest species on the Grand Cayman Islands be at risk of extinction? Under normal conditions the Blue Iguana would thrive in its native […]

Written by on April 29, 2016

Million-year-old Lizard Species Discovered on Remote Pacific Island

Exciting news! A new species of lizard was discovered on the remote Mussau Island in the Pacific Ocean. Because they are isolated, islands are conducive to speciation, which leads to fascinating organisms–like this lizard–and high biodiversity. Described as a ‘biological oddity’, researchers from the University of Turku in Finland say the lizard, named Varanus semotus, […]

Written by on March 14, 2016