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Ibiza snake invasion as tourists’ food demands see rise in reptiles

The island of Ibiza is thought of as blessed for having no snakes, with ancient civilisations worshipping gods credited with scaring them away.

Instead, the isle has scores of bright green lizards, which pollinate the pink flowers that grow abundantly. 

But now British tourists’ demand for imports of food and exotic plants has caused an influx of snakes, which the island is far from prepared for. And without any natural predators, they are free to feast on green-coloured Ibiza wall lizards that are yet to evolve to camouflage themselves.

The development risks undoing 2,800 years of history. The first Phoenician settlers on the island named it “Ibosim”, named after the ancient Phoenician god Bes, who was known for his snake-repelling powers

Recent research has found that snakes have invaded half of Ibiza’s land area. Censuses show areas with high numbers of lizards are yet to be invaded by snakes, such as the horseshoe whip snake. The same cannot be said in areas with high numbers of the predators.

The situation has gotten so bad that a local council is giving out free traps and paying locals to destroy the snakes on the island. They are not dangerous to humans, but have a ferocious appetite for the wall lizards. There are three species of snake on Ibiza now, but the most problematic is the horseshoe whip snake.

© Provided by The Telegraph The situation has gotten so bad that a local council is giving out free traps and paying locals to destroy the snakes

A group of British expats, funded by a board member of the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, are encouraging “eco holidays” to help restore the island's natural habitats. They hope to reduce the need for imports to make the trendy Peruvian and Japanese food that tourists demand, and ask visitors to enjoy the natural beauty and local cuisine of Ibiza.

Much of the damage has been done by British tourists, so expat Serena Cook, who runs a high-end concierge service on the island; and Ben Goldsmith, a financier and nature campaigner who sits on the board of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, set up Ibiza Preservation.

Kate Benyon-Tinker, another British expat and their communications manager, said: “We are trying to get people to appreciate the lizards, pictures of them are sold on fridge magnets, beach towels and stuff. They evolved to eat vegetation because of the lack of other foodstuffs on the islands. This means they pollinate all the plants, they are hugely important to the ecosystem.

“We are supporting a campaign to save the lizard and what they're doing is trying to spread the word about trapping the snakes, and what you do and encouraging people to get their own traps.”

Each year, thousands of Brits descend on Ibiza in a short two-month window. Ibiza Preservation hopes to reduce the pressure of tourism on the local environment and bring back nature, and is now run by local sustainability experts as well as some British expats.

© Provided by The Telegraph An Ibiza wall lizard

They have funded local groups who are preserving the island's natural resources, from the almond groves to the native black pig, and are campaigning for Brits to partake in more sustainable tourism, and come year-round instead of all arriving in the same two month window.

The organisation is also aiming to rejuvenate the island’s farms. Over the decades, locals moved from farming to tourism, with many farms planted with pine tree monoculture, which does not support much wildlife. With a focus on local food, the farms are slowly coming back to life. In two years, the number of organic farms signed up to their programme has gone up from 23 to 37. 

“It’s definitely becoming a more foodie destination,” said Ms Benyon-Tinker.

This is important for the sustainability of the island, she explained, adding: “The type of tourism here means they have this problem where a huge amount of tourists descend on a beach in a really short space of time. 

“And what’s much better for the island is if you can have a more constant year-round tourism, so that you have a winter tourism where people come and they're more interested in doing walks, and you know, eating in nice restaurants and doing these kind of farm to table experiences.”

Wildlife tourism boom

Declining interest in package holidays has pushed tourism in the right direction, with visitors coming to see the wildlife and eat local food rather than simply party the night away, shuttling from club to hotel and back again. 

This has been even more pronounced during the pandemic, when the clubs have been shut and tourists have had to amuse themselves in other ways.

Ms Benyon-Tinker said: “What's interesting as well as we've started to get people contact us because they want to know if there's some volunteering that they can do while they're here, can they join a beach clean, or you know, could they come and do some work at a farm, that's sort of questions we are getting.”. 

“For decades, we have had the ‘tourism of excess’, but now people really are interested in having sustainable holidays and experiencing the natural wonders of the island," she added.  

Reference: The Telegraph: Helena Horton