Hardy Tropicals UK

You do sometimes see the odd lizard back home in Portsmouth, but here in Malta as well as a few types of lizard, you get Chameleon's & Gecko's, even seen a couple in my back garden

Nathan wrote:You do sometimes see the odd lizard back home in Portsmouth, but here in Malta as well as a few types of lizard, you get Chameleon's & Gecko's, even seen a couple in my back garden

Do you still see them in this time of the year overthere or is it to cold?

In November I went to Italy. In Pompeii on a sunny day I still saw plenty lizards. Green ones. On those Mediterranean island you get often endemic lizard species. So probably also on Malta.

Its also one of the few places in Europe where you get chameleons. Only there, Creta and Southern Spain and maybe Rhodos and Cyprus they are found.

Alexander

Yes they are still active during the winter here, as have seen some myself, you have to loook really hard for Chameleons but there are lots about, lizards are easier to spot though

You have the endemic 'wall/rock' Lizard Podarcis Filfolensis, with a normally green and black pattern, a striking Lizard and both Turkish and Moorish Geckos.

Clive60 wrote:You have the endemic 'wall/rock' Lizard Podarcis Filfolensis, with a normally green and black pattern, a striking Lizard and both Turkish and Moorish Geckos.

Just googled that Lizard & it looks like the ones I see in my garden, they are beautiful... Not seen any Geckos yet, hopefully once the weather warms up in spring I may see some

Dave Brown wrote:I used to catch them them as a kid, just to prove I could do it, then let them go, but haven't seen a wild one for 40 odd years. Most of the dry sandy fields where I saw them are under tarmac or houses now

What they need to do in sanlizard habitat is creating an open sunny habitat. When those areas are not properly managed these habitats get overgrown with bushes and the lizards will dessapair.

In a dune area near Zandvoort here they have an area where European bizons are released. Its a scientific project to see how these big animals cope with the local ecosystem and how they can improve it for other plants and animals.
The philosophy behind this project is that without the presence of man these animals would have a significant impact on the vegetation and landscape.
Well it has became clear that due to the fact those bizons like to take sandbaths they create open sanduy patches. Those sandy places are then visted by sandlizards to lay in the sun but also for laying eggs. Also the browsing of those bizons creates a much more open landscape wich is beneficial for other plants and animals.

And those animals do it probably better then man can do.

See also on: www.wisenten.nl

Alexander

Alexander wrote:

Dave Brown wrote:I used to catch them them as a kid, just to prove I could do it, then let them go, but haven't seen a wild one for 40 odd years. Most of the dry sandy fields where I saw them are under tarmac or houses now

What they need to do in sanlizard habitat is creating an open sunny habitat. When those areas are not properly managed these habitats get overgrown with bushes and the lizards will dessapair.

In a dune area near Zandvoort here they have an area where European bizons are released.

Now that sounds a good idea . . . demolish a few housing estates, and release some bison in their place. Brilliant thinking!

Conifers wrote:

Alexander wrote:

Dave Brown wrote:I used to catch them them as a kid, just to prove I could do it, then let them go, but haven't seen a wild one for 40 odd years. Most of the dry sandy fields where I saw them are under tarmac or houses now

What they need to do in sanlizard habitat is creating an open sunny habitat. When those areas are not properly managed these habitats get overgrown with bushes and the lizards will dessapair.

In a dune area near Zandvoort here they have an area where European bizons are released.

Now that sounds a good idea . . . demolish a few housing estates, and release some bison in their place. Brilliant thinking!

Well in areas where there are no housing estates. But now I am thingking about it, demolishing some houses and replace it by bizons and lizards would not such a bad idear actually...

Cheers,

Alexander