ARC Trustee, Howard Inns shares his reflection on this year's ARC Members Day. Members spent the day at Marwell zoo, learning about the sand lizard captive breeding programme.  

Almost everywhere in the UK you can look up into the sky and witness a conservation success story, the Red Kite. In 1989 it was a bird that you had to be a dedicated ornithologist to see, now pretty much everybody is familiar with it.

Slightly less obvious and without wings to help the sand lizard’s story is also one of success.  The challenges of making this story successful are very different from the Red Kite.  The most obvious is the limited ability that lizards have (in common with all of our amphibian and reptile species) to colonise new places so translocations have been an important tool.  Secondly the Sand Lizard is a habitat specialist and relies specifically on heathlands or sand dune habitats which provide it with the right balance of warm vegetation cover and exposed sand in which to lay its eggs. 

It was great to be able to share that story at our members day at Marwell Zoo. Marwell is an ARC partner and has been pivotal to the sand lizard program.  As well as carefully managing our native populations, ARC has introduced over 10,000 lizards to almost 80 suitable sites throughout the UK, repopulating sites where the species has become extinct or introducing them to suitable sites within what is believed to have been the natural historic range.  Our members were able to hear the story of the sand lizard and ask questions of Nick Moulton ARC’s Rare Reptile Officer who has overseen the program for several decades.

They then heard from Tania Gilbert, head of conservation at Marwell Zoo, who spoke about the various conservation work they undertake on and off site. Members were also given the opportunity to see the breeding facility at Marwell where some 2000 lizards have been bred and released on nearly 30 different sites.

It’s always great to be able to speak directly to our members about the work that their subscriptions and voluntary help support and we look forward to bringing you news of our work at future members day meetings.

Not a member but interested in attending ARC's members events and taking advantage of exclusive discounts?

Sign up today!