Often mistaken for a snake, the striped legless lizard once roamed more than 22,000 square kilometres of native grasslands. Today the species lives on less than one per cent of that figure.
The road ahead for the lizard population is going to be just as tough, as bricks and mortar replace their habitual grasslands.
But a successful search and rescue by the Department of Sustainability and Environment (DSE) has helped relocate 70 lizards to Keilor’s Organ Pipes Park in what has been described as a major step forward in managing the species.
DSE chief flora and fauna officer Alan Webster told Star last week the relocation was a one-off trial project.
Mr Webster said the lizards were rescued from a Cairnlea estate in February and have since been housed and monitored in specially-designed habitats at the Melbourne Zoo.
“Organ Pipes National Park, which has already had significant restoration work done in the past to re-establish the grasslands, was an ideal place to reintroduce endangered species.”
Over the past 15 years, a Friends of the Park group has been re-establishing native grasses and other plants.
While the lizard looks like a snake, experts believe the species is more closely related to geckoes.
The most noticeable way in which the lizard differs from a snake is a fleshy tongue and ear opening on the side of the head. The lizards are also considerably smaller, at a maxiumum length of about 30 centimetres. They are pale grey to brown in colour and are also marked with blackish stripes.
They spend much of their time in cracks in the ground or under boulders and tussocks.
“We’re not sure how many of these lizards are left in the wild, but there has been a marked decline since European settlement and they’re now threatened across Australia,” Mr Webster said.
“Victoria is one of the strongholds of the species, particularly around the Melbourne fringe.
“That shows we need to help protect the lizards the best we can.”
