Ibiza lizards ‘near extinction’ due to invasive snakes and mounting litter
Conservationists in Ibiza are warning the island’s native bright blue and green lizards are coming ever closer to extinction due to the mounting threats of invasive snakes and tourists’ litter.
The Ibiza wall lizard is endemic to Ibiza and neighbouring Formentera and is vital to the ecosystem of the islands, experts say, for pollinating plants and controlling pests.
Since the 2000s, the small, colourful reptiles, which are harmless to humans, have become endangered due to the proliferation of invasive snakes that first arrived in imported trees.
Conservationists say Ibiza lizards are endangered. Pic: Dean Gallagher
Conservation foundation IbizaPreservation says snakes are now present on up to 90% of the island, while the lizard population has decreased massively, believed to have disappeared from about 70%.
But there is also another issue affecting the species – litter left mainly by tourists at beauty spots.
Dean Gallagher, a snake catcher on the island, says he is constantly finding the bodies of dead lizards stuck inside discarded bottles and cans at Es Savinar, a southerly viewpoint where people often gather for sunset.
“I’m finding these lizards trapped in cans and bottles,” he tells Sky News. “Once they get inside their feet get wet from the drink inside, the beer or the Red Bull, and they can’t get out. Sun comes up, heats up the bottle, the can, and just fries a lizard inside. It’s absolutely devastating.”
Dean Gallagher has lived in Ibiza for more than 20 years
Tourism accounts for about 84% of Ibiza’s economy and is vital for the island, with tourist spending reaching 4.3bn euros in 2024, according to the Balearic Institute of Statistics (IBESTAT) – an increase of 62% since 2016. The number of tourists reached a record high of more than 3.7m for Ibiza and neighbouring Formentera in 2023 – an increase of almost 25% since 2016.
The land Dean looks after at Es Savinar is private, he says, but people ignore signs and fences which were replaced at the beginning of the summer.
“We do rubbish collections probably once or twice a week,” he says. “We clear the whole area of bottles and cans then the next time, we go back and there’s even more.
“Bottles can cause bush fires. The forests are really dry at the moment, just one spark can set this place alight. And [litter] is also killing our lizards. They’re marvellous, beautiful creatures, they’re not aggressive and they keep the bugs away. The ecological value is really important.”
Signs have been put up around the private land. Pic: Dean Gallagher
Dean lives near Santa Eulalia, where he says numbers are scarce. “Lots of parts of the north of the island now, they’ve completely diminished and it’s very sad,” he adds.
“And the very southwest corner of the island where this viewpoint is, this is the last place where they are in stable numbers. But the excessive rubbish, tourism, snakes, are gonna wipe them out completely.”
Gallagher says he is constantly finding the reptiles trapped in glass bottles and cans
Visual surveys of areas of Ses Salines Natural Park by environmental association GEN-GOB have found the population there has decreased by between 70% and 90% since 2023.
GEN-GOB, Friends Of The Earth Ibiza and IbizaPreservation are among several organisations that have been working to save the species in recent years.
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Jordi Serapio, coordinator of Protegim Ses Sargantanes, IbizaPreservation’s lizard protection project, says abandoned bottles and cans are “deadly traps” for the animals.
And snake numbers continue to grow and expand toward territories where lizards still remain, he adds. The most common snake on the island – and the biggest danger to lizards – is the horseshoe whip snake, but other types have been spotted.
“It has followed a northeast to southwest expansion,” he says. “The highest snake densities are observed in what they have called the ‘invasion front’ – this is known precisely thanks to trapping.
“In contrast, in areas where lizards have already become extinct, there appears to be a much lower density of snakes.”
So the more food available for the snakes, the higher the numbers.
“This is something common in most biological invasions, which end up regulating themselves naturally,” Jordi says. “The unknown in this case is whether some lizard populations will manage to survive and adapt. Although everything seems to indicate that they won’t.”
He also highlights another problem – predation by both feral and domestic cats – which he says is a growing threat.
“In the current context of the species’ extinction, any additional pressure worsens the situation.”
Thousands of members of actors’ trade union Equity are being asked whether they would support industrial action over artificial intelligence protections.
The organisation has launched an indicative ballot among about 7,000 members working in film and TV.
Performers are being asked whether they are prepared to refuse to be digitally scanned on set in order to secure adequate artificial intelligence protections.
It will be the first time the performing arts and entertainment trade union has asked this whole section of its membership to vote in a ballot.
The Hollywood strikes took place in 2023. File pic: AP
The announcement follows the Hollywood strikes in 2023, when members of Equity’s sister union in the US, SAG-AFTRA, and writers, went on strike over issues including AI.
Video game actors in the US also protested over the use of AI, ending almost a year of industrial action earlier in 2025.
Equity’s ballot opens on Thursday and runs for two weeks, and will show the level of support the union has for action short of a strike.
Another statutory ballot would have to be made before any industrial action is taken.
“While tech companies get away with stealing artists’ likeness or work, and the government and decision makers fret over whether to act, unions including Equity are at the forefront of the fight to ensure working people are protected from artificial intelligence misuse,” Equity general secretary Paul W Fleming said in a statement.
“If bosses can’t ensure someone’s likeness and work won’t be used without their consent, why should performers consent to be digitally scanned in the first place?”
Mr Fleming said the ballot would give members the opportunity to “send a clear message to the industry: that it is a basic right of performers to have autonomy over their own personhood and identity”.
The union has no choice but to recommend members support industrial action, he said.
“It’s time for the bosses to step away from the brink and offer us a package, including on AI protections, which respects our members,” added Mr Fleming.
The hotly anticipated Spotify Wrapped is revealing our top tracks, artists and albums for 2025.
But how does the streaming service calculate personalised summaries of users’ listening habits and rank the UK’s hottest artists?
Here’s a look at how your data is used.
The platform describes the annual statistics as “a chance to look back on your year in sound”.
It says data is captured between January and mid-November on every account, although it mostly excludes anything streamed in private mode. (Don’t worry, your passion for the Spice Girls can be kept secret.)
Wrapped presents personalised listening statistics, which Spotify calls the “real story of your year of listening”, alongside global figures for comparison.
The streaming service says Minutes Listened reflects the actual time spent listening to audio on the platform.
Once a user streams at least 30 tracks, Spotify generates a list of Your Top Songs. Similarly, Your Top Artists ranks artists based on total minutes listening to a particular performer.
Other metrics identify the top genres users have played, as well as podcasts and audiobooks ranked by total minutes listened. And if you’ve listened to at least 70% of tracks on a record, you’ll see top albums too.
Spotify also creates Your Listening Age, a guesstimate of your age based on the era of the music “you feel most connected to”.
The streaming service says the statistic is calculated using a five-year span of music which users engaged with more than other listeners of a similar age.
Spotify has been summing up 2025’s most listened to tracks. Pic: Spotify
Swift vs Bunny
Pop superstar Taylor Swift has been named the UK’s most-streamed artist on Spotify for the third year in a row.
But she dropped out of the top spot in the global rankings, coming second to Puerto Rican superstar Bad Bunny, who secured more than 19.8 billion streams. Third were The Weeknd, followed by Drake and Billie Eilish.
Bad Bunny’s LP Debi Tirar Mas Fotos was the most listened-to album worldwide.
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Spotify revealed Drake was the UK’s second most-listened to artist, followed by Sabrina Carpenter in third, The Weeknd in fourth and Billie Eilish in fifth.
Despite being the most listened-to artist, Swift failed to break into the UK’s top five most listened-to songs and albums of the year.
Alex Warren’s Ordinary was the most-streamed song, and Short ‘N’ Sweet, released by Carpenter last year, the top album.
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