World’s Rarest Snake, the St. Lucia Racer (Population 11), is Rediscovered

[findi]

Hi All,
[FONT=&quot]The St. Lucia Racer or Ornate Ground Snake, Liophis ornatus, has the unenviable distinctions of being both the world’s rarest snake and the species with the smallest range…it may even be the rarest creature on the planet. The entire population – 11 individuals at last count – is confined to a 30 acre Caribbean island off St. Lucia.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Ever since reading Archie Carr’s wonderful books as a child, I’ve been drawn to the Caribbean’s islands and coastlines. As luck would have it, I eventually found myself working at Tortuguero, Costa Rica – the very site where much of his ground-breaking Green Turtle research was done. There I became hooked on the region’s fantastic array of creatures, and endeavored to become familiar with as many as possible. In time, I tagged Leatherback Sea Turtles on St. Croix, collected Bahaman Brown Racers, Alsophis vudii, on several islands, and vowed to find again a large, flying Mole Cricket that once stopped me in my tracks on St. Lucia. Unfortunately, Caribbean animals suffer some of the world’s highest extinction rates. In fact, the St. Lucia racer was “officially extinct” for nearly 40 years. Happily, we now know that it still holds on…but just barely. [/FONT]Read more here St. Lucia Racer, World?s Rarest Snake (Population 11) is Rediscovered
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Thanks, Frank
My Bio, with photos of animals I’ve been lucky enough to work with That Pet Place welcomes Zoologist/Herpetologist Frank Indiviglio to That Reptile Blog | That Reptile Blog
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[aliray]

You would think that man would finally learn to stop introducing other non native species to fix a problem. In the long run it ends up causing more unexpexted consequenses to the native populations and their are no natural controls in the new environment

 

[cthulhus_minion]

That's great!

 

[findi]

You would think that man would finally learn to stop introducing other non native species to fix a problem. In the long run it ends up causing more unexpexted consequenses to the native populations and their are no natural controls in the new environment

Hi,

Thanks for your interest; I think we've finally realized that introductions as you mention do not work, although there are still trials going on with invertebrates (parasitoid wasps introduced to control various crop pests, etc.) Mongooses were introduced over 100 years ago, but have proven very hard to eradicate from all except the smallest islands, Best, Frank

 

[wjgonzalez]

I was in Tortuguero, many years ago when I was a grad student in botany. I was with the OTS (organization of tropical studies). I loved it.
Bill Gonzalez

 

[findi]

I was in Tortuguero, many years ago when I was a grad student in botany. I was with the OTS (organization of tropical studies). I loved it.
Bill Gonzalez

Hi Bill,

Thanks for your note...wonderful place, isn't it? My first time there was in 1986, with a Caribbean Conservation Corps/Bronx Zoo project.

best, Frank