New Atlas of native reptiles launched

New initiative

There are only 13 species of reptiles and amphibians native to the UK, and 9 of those can be found in and around London – but exactly where, no-one’s entirely sure.

Yet.

Connecting London’s Amphibian and Reptile Environments (CLARE) is a collaborative group involving members from the Amphibian and Reptile Conservation (ARC), London Wildlife Trust, Greenspace Information for Greater London (GiGL) and the London Amphibian and Reptile Group promoting education and awareness of reptiles and amphibians. Together, they have recently launched the London Amphibian and Reptile Atlas. (http://www.gigl.org.uk/Ourdatasets/LARA/tabid/217/Default.aspx)

“Threatened by persecution”

GiGL says of the Atlas that, in addition to being threatened by habitat destruction, “Amphibians are also threatened by the spread of disease and reptiles threatened by persecution. There is a lack of available information on the whereabouts of herpetofauna across Greater London so opportunities to safeguard them are often missed.”

So, they have created an online Wiki-style atlas recording sightings of any reptiles and amphibians in the Greater London area. It relies heavily on public contributions (http://www.gigl.org.uk/Submitrecords/tabid/75/Default.aspx), so do help the cause by reporting any reptiles or amphibians you spot in the wild.

Get reporting!

This is a great initiative. A great deal of the current scientific data on the captive physiology, behaviour and reproductive biology of reptiles has been gathered by amateur herpetologists. Also, you'll be helping raise awareness and save the lives of some of the UK's most important native species!

What's with the reptile article?

Hi, I'm Sheree :-) I do social media - and I run a very social blog all about care of pet reptiles and amphibians. Please do check it out at http://wp.leapinggecko.com/.

I'd love to meet anyone with relevant expertise or interest who'd like to guest blog - so keep your ears open!

Sheree x