by Australia’s grassland earless dragon is no bigger than a pinkie when it emerges from its shell, but the little lizard faces a huge challenge in the coming years: avoiding extinction.
As early as 2019, scientists in Canberra counted hundreds of grass earless dragons in the wild. This year, they got 11.
In other areas of the country, the lizard has not been seen for decades.
The earless dragon – light brown with long white stripes down its body – measures about 15 centimeters, which is about the size of a $1 bill, when fully grown. It lacks an external ear opening and a functional ear drum, hence the name.
Australia has four species of earless dragons. There are three critically endangeredthe highest level of risk, although the fourth is at risk.
Last year, the Australian government said it was using “specially trained detection dogs to sniff out dragons and a breeding program to ensure the species is not lost again.”
The critically endangered dragons are likely to become extinct within the next 20 years without conservation efforts, experts say.
“If we manage their conservation properly, we can bring them back,” said Professor Bernd Gruber from the University of Canberra, who is working to do just that.
“A sense of hope”
Australia is home to thousands of unique animals, including 1,130 species of reptiles found nowhere else in the world.
Climate changeinvasive plants and animals, and habitat destruction — such as the Bushfires 2019which burned more than 46 million acres – pushing Australia’s native species to the brink.
Over the past 300 years, around 100 unique species of Australian flora and fauna have been wiped off the planet.
To save the earless dragons, several breeding programs are underway across Australia, including a biosecurity facility in the Canberra bushlands, which Gruber oversees.
On the shelves are many tanks containing the lizards – one for each container – with a hole, grass and heat lamps to keep them warm.
The biggest problem is mating, and the territorial female lizards prefer to choose their mates.
This means that scientists have to introduce different male lizards to the female until she consents.
If that wasn’t difficult enough, scientists must also use genetic analysis to determine which lizards are compatible with each other and to ensure genetic diversity in their offspring.
At any one time, there can be up to 90 earless dragons in breeding programs across Australia, which will eventually be released back into the wild.
Currently, Gruber is caring for more than 20 little lizards that have just hatched. Scientists almost missed the tiny eggs until three weeks ago.
“There is a feeling of hope looking over them,” he told AFP.
“important role”
Despite the efforts of scientists, the lizards are struggling with a shrinking habitat and a changing climate.
Australian Conservation Foundation campaigner Peta Bulling said the lizards only live in temperate grasslands, most of which have been destroyed by urban development.
Only 0.5% of the grasslands that existed at the time of European colonization still exist.
Without the lizards, Australia’s alpine grasslands might look very different.
“We don’t understand everything grass earless dragons do in the ecosystem, but we can guess that they play an important role in managing invertebrate populations. They live in holes in the soil, so they are probably aerating the soil in different ways too,” she told AFP.
Bulling said that while it was important to bring the lizard back, it was also vital to protect their habitats, without which the newly rescued lizards would have nowhere to live.
“They are highly specialized to live in their habitat but they will not adapt quickly to change,” she said.
Last year, scientists rediscovered a small number of earless dragons after 50 years in an area that is being kept secret for conservation reasons.
Resources are being poured into understanding the size of that population and what can be done to protect it.
Endangered species worldwide
The earless lizard is just one of thousands of endangered — or already extinct — species. Deforestation, pollution and the effects of climate change are just some of the reasons that endanger various animals and plants.
In October, 21 species in the United States have been removed from the endangered species list because they are extinct, according to the Fish and Wildlife Service.
According to a 2023 report from the World Wildlife Fund, 380 new species have been discovered across Asia in the past few years, and many are already at risk of extinction.
Four years earlier, scientists warned the world, 1 million species endangered plants and animals.
Still, in the US, there is the Endangered Species Act, established in 1973 he was very successful. A staggering 99% of threatened species survived the initial listing – including bald eagles, grizzly bears and alligators.
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