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A surprising flagship species for restoring a Caribbean paradise

The Antiguan racer, Alsophis antiguae, is endemic to Antigua and Barbuda and was abundant until Asian mongooses, Herpestes javanicus, were introduced in the 19th century. The mongooses hunted many native birds, reptiles and amphibians to extinction and reduced the snake population to only 50 individuals on the 9.9-hectare Great Bird Island. The Antiguan racer had thus become the rarest snake in the world.

To save these harmless reptiles from extinction, the Antiguan Racer Conservation Project was formed by a partnership of organizations including Fauna & Flora International, Durrell Wildlife and the local Environmental Awareness Group

The racers on Great Bird Island were safe from mongooses, but lacked room to increase and were being literally eaten alive by another alien invasive species: the black rat, Rattus rattus. Project staff and volunteers therefore embarked upon an ambitious programme to eradicate rats using a brodifacoum rodenticide donated by Syngenta. Great Bird Island and an additional ten islands have been cleared of rats to date. Antiguan racers have been successfully reintroduced to two islands and a third reintroduction will take place at the end of 2007.

This recovery effort initially met with little enthusiasm, due to widespread dislike of snakes. However, the project team succeeded in raising appreciation of the racers and the offshore islands through the media, guided field trips, teacher training and curriculum development, public talks, training tour operators and a website. There are now around 300 Antiguan racers in the wild - a 6-fold increase - and they have become a tourist attraction in their own right.

In fact, the oldest Antiguan racer, aged 15 years, was recaptured in August 2007. Female “AP” was implanted by FFI staff with a microchip tag in 1995 at three years of age. All racers are tagged to monitor their progress and deter theft.

The rat eradication programme has greatly benefited native plants and nesting hawksbill turtles as well. Wildlife on the rat-free islands is being monitored by trained local volunteers and student interns, who have also documented a significant increase in nesting birds, such as the rare Caribbean brown pelican, and the first recorded sighting of nesting brown boobies in Antigua in the summer of 2007.

In 2006, the offshore islands became part of a major new marine protected area: the North East Marine Management Area. This stunningly beautiful area draws around 50,000 local and international visitors every year.

Fauna & Flora International continues to support the Environmental Awareness Group, the Government of Antigua and Barbuda and tourism companies to achieve our mutual goal of “Healthy, functioning offshore island ecosystems that are sustainably managed as a refuge for native wildlife and for the benefit of local people.”