Environmental Agents (AMA) of the Cabildo de Lanzarote and the RedEXOS Intervention Team captured this week in the town of Playa Honda (San Bartolomé) a specimen of Barbary ground squirrel, an exotic introduced species for decades in Fuerteventura.
According to RedEXOS on social media, the animal arrived last September 1st in Lanzarote hidden in the bodywork of a rental car transported by a couple of tourists from Fuerteventura. For now, the neighboring island is the only one in the archipelago where the species is found.
It was a resident of Playa Honda who alerted the Local Police of San Bartolomé, who communicated it to the AMA and they in turn to RedEXOS. The capture was resolved quickly, thanks to the use of a food attractant and without the animal suffering any harm during the operation.
A single pair, hundreds of thousands of specimens in Fuerteventura
However, as it is a cataloged exotic species, its transfer to an authorized zoo is planned. In Fuerteventura, it is estimated that there are "hundreds of thousands of specimens" distributed throughout the island, originating from a single pair that was released in the 1960s.
In a statement, the authorities responsible for controlling invasive exotic species explain that citizen collaboration is essential to prevent biological invasions. Any sighting of a Barbary ground squirrel outside of Fuerteventura (or any other invasive exotic species in the early warning phase, regardless of the island) should be reported to RedEXOS through its app, by email at redexos.medioambiente@gobiernodecanarias.org, or by phone/WhatsApp at 646 601 457.
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