BACK FROM M THE BRINK

With alien invaders kep pt at bay, many native Carib bbean species are at last on thet mend.

ANTIGUAN RACER

Once dubbed the world’s rarest snake, the Antiguan racer ( right) was virtually wiped out by invasive small Asian mongooses until only 50 remained on one small, mongoose-free (but rat-infested) island. Together with its partners, FFI eradicated the harmful aliens from 15 Antiguan islands; today, the over 1,100 racers have become a tourist attraction.

SAINT LUCIA WHIPTAIL

Invasive mammals nearly pushed this handsome lizard – whose males sport the black, yellow, blue and white of the Saint Lucian flag – to extinction; it survived only on the tiny pest-free Maria Islands. It is being reintroduced to other islands cleared of rats, mongooses, opossums, goats, sheep and cane toads. Numbers have already risen to over 2,300.

WHITE CAY IGUANA

In 1997 this big lizard was on the brink of extinction thanks to one raccoon and an army of black rats, which ravaged the hapless reptile. The Bahamas National Trust and FFI removed the invaders, enabling iguana numbers to recover from an all-time low of fewer than 150 to over 2,000 today.

SEABIRDS ON DOG ISLAND

Black rats once preyed heavily on the seabirds of Dog Island, part of the UK Overseas Territory of Anguilla. FFI and partners eradicated the rodents in 2012; within three years, nesting colonies increased to over 320,000 pairs. In addition, three species recolonised naturally, including Audubon’s shearwaters that arrived within two months of the rats being removed.