22 endangered Galliwasp lizards born in Jersey

This video says about itself:

The tiny island of Montserrat was devastated by a volcano in the late 1990’s. Over two thirds of its landmass was turned into a scorched moonscape.

From Wildlife Extra:

22 endangered Galliwasp lizards are born in Jersey

The Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust is celebrating the birth of 22 endangered Haitian giant galliwasps at its Jersey headquarters. Galliwasps have been kept at Jersey for the last 18 months, after 19 captive bred animals were given to the trust by Nashville Zoo in the US.

This is the first time that these skink-like lizards have been bred in Europe, heralding a major step forward in the preservation of the Haitian galliwasp’s much rarer cousin – the Montserrat galliwasp.

Montserrat galliwasp

The Montserrat galliwasp is a secretive animal which has only been sighted a handful of times over the last decade, and is classified as critically endangered.

Scientists from the Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust are committed to preserving the unique wildlife found on the Caribbean island of Montserrat, and it is hoped that their work with the Haitian galliwasp will give them a better understanding of how to approach saving the galliwasp species found on Montserrat.

Dr Gerardo Garcia, Head of Herpetology at the Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust, said: ‘We were delighted to discover a mini-invasion of galliwasps at the reptile facility – the newborns are tiny weighing just 1.5g but are all in good health. We are hoping that in the future we can replicate our success with this species with the Montserrat gallliwasp and prevent it from becoming extinct.’

The herpetology team have developed special marking, feeding and health screening techniques for the Haitian galliwasp which could also be transferable to other species.

A biodiversity assessment of Montserrat’s wildlife was carried out recently and the Trust is currently devising action plans for each of the island’s critically endangered species, including the Montserrat mountain chicken frog and the Montserrat oriole – along with the galliwasp both species are unique to Montserrat.

Endangered species in Canada: here.