The state of Israel’s reptiles continues to decline, according to an updated Red List, the first to be published in 23 years.
The book (in Hebrew) finds that out of 92 species and subspecies, 5% are at serious risk of extinction, 34% are at risk, 31% are likely to become at risk, 8% are at low risk, and 33% are at no risk. For 7% there is insufficient information to make an assessment.
Among the species whose ranking worsened by two or three levels are the javelin sand boa, Olivier’s sand lizard, the false smooth snake, the black desert cobra, the crowned dwarf racer snake, Blanford’s ground gecko, and the European glass lizard.
Species at risk of extinction include five out of six turtles and 21 out of 45 lizards. That said, several turtle species are among those whose situation has improved, probably due to conservation programs.
Several invasive species also feature in the list — a lizard, two geckos, and a red-eared terrapin, a popular pet native to the southern US and northern Mexico. Invasive species compete with and threaten native ones.
Species at extreme risk tend to have small populations and are typically found in specific habitats, the report said. These include Schreiber’s fringe-fingered lizard, which lives on the sands of central Israel, where human activity is most intense, along with the Lebanon viper, Kulzer’s lizard, and the non-venomous four-lined snake found on Mount Hermon in the Golan Heights, in Israel’s far north.
The report says that while the desert is less affected than areas closer to the country’s center, species endemic to (only found in) the Eilat region suffer, or will suffer in the near future, from the development of the city and plans to build a railway to the Red Sea resort. On Mount Hermon, the main threats are from military and tourist activity, and frequent fires over large areas.
The Lebanon viper, found on Mount Hermon in the far north of Israel, faces serious risk of extinction, according to the latest Red List of reptiles. (Aviad Bar, Israel Nature and Parks Authority)
Israel’s wildlife faces a range of threats, from construction, agriculture, and the destruction of open space, to invasive and feral species, construction of solar fields, sand mining, off-road vehicles, and military activity, according to the Red List.
The list, published by the Israel Nature and Parks Authority, was put together over two years in partnership with Tel Aviv University’s Steinhardt Museum of Natural History. It was led by Prof. Shai Meiri, curator of terrestrial vertebrates at the Steinhardt Museum, and doctoral student Ben Sharmeister, along with Dr. Noam Lieder, head of ecology, and Dr. Tal Polak, responsible for wild animal conservation, at the Israel Nature and Parks Authority.
“It is no secret that the state of nature in general and the animal world is getting worse,” Sharmeister said. “Natural areas are shrinking, temperatures are rising, and risks are increasing year by year. This is especially true for reptiles… We know very little about the life, needs, biology, and state of the various populations, which is why this book is very important. I hope we can come together – professionals, academia, and the public – to preserve the status of reptiles and hopefully even improve it.”
