Resumen de Culebra Real de California: Una intrusa en el Jardín de las Hespérides
Ramón Gallo Barneto, Miguel Ángel Cabrera Pérez, M. A. Peña Estévez, Clara Patiño Martínez, Catalina Monzón Argüello
The California kingsnake was first found in 1998 in the east of Gran Canaria. In 2006, this species became common and in the spring and summer of 2007, hundreds of sightings were recorded. Biometric data and the folidosis show that all the individuals caught in Gran Canaria belong to the Californian kingsnake. All previous data showing outstanding adaptation of the snake to the wild in Gran Canaria, making this species a serious environmental problem, especially for endemic populations of reptiles, especially the endemic lizards Gran Canaria Gallotia stehlini and smooth Gran Canaria Chalcides sexlineatus.
Between September 2011 and August 2015, it has been executed LIFE+ Lampropeltis project, funded by the LIFE program of the European Union, the Canary Islands Government and the Council of de Gran Canaria, with the goal to develop new actions in order to improve control the California kingsnake, minimizing its impact on native biodiversity. The control of invasive exotic species requires major efforts in the long-term to start to obtain indicators of whether a reduction is occurring in wild populations.
In the two population nuclei, we have been able to slow down the expansion of the species and its affectation on native fauna. The selection of effective capture methods, the considerable increase of citizens' implication, the establishment of a solid network of information exchange between experts, the implantation of Early Warning Systems, knowledge of the species' biology in Gran Canaria and the drive of volunteers have led to the building of solid foundations with the power to reverse this trend in the future.
