Helicopters dropped the poison on this island. A species considered as extinct was reborn there
On one of the islands of the Galapagos archipelago, scientists confirmed the return of the species of the gecko, which was considered extinct. Dison’s drops made of helicopters contributed significantly to this.
Phyllodactylus Maresi is a gecka species, living only on the Galapagos Islands. However, these small, because 8 cm reptiles were not easy. For example, on the Rabid Island belonging to the archipelago, they were considered a long time ago.
Playing extinct species. Success on one of the Galapagos islands
The process of their playback began only in 2011. The Non-Profit Island Conservation, together with the Galapagos National Park, Charles Darwin Foundation and The Raptor Center, as part of a larger action, decided to recreate wild nature on 11 Galapagos islands.
An important part of the project was the dropping of poison in the large area of the Galapagos Islands. Helicopters were used in this operation and it was the first such case in southern America. The poison was aimed at getting rid of a foreign, invasive type of migratory rat. This was to protect sensitive local species, including geckos.
Rats were eliminated by 2012, and environmentalists quickly confirmed that wild nature began to return to the islands. A single gecko phyllodactylus Maresi was photographed and collected for research in 2012, but the specimen shortly later disappeared from the collection.
Gekon considered extinct appeared on the island of Rabida
Subsequent individuals were found on Rabid’s Island only in 2019 and 2021. It was then confirmed that they were Phyllodactylus Maresi. – The return of this gecka shows the amazing power of nature to renew as soon as we give her a chance – said Paula Castaño from Island Conservation Impact Program.
– This is another example of the rebirth of the nature we see in the Islands around the world: when we rebally rebalans the ecosystem, the reflection is fast and violent. In addition, the species of gecka from the island of Rabida stands out so much from others similar to him that it has gained the status of Evolutionary Significant Unit – units of evolutionary importance (ESU).
