How can we protect what we do not fully understand?

That is the key question driving our work on ‘uplisting’ species considered Data Deficient according to the IUCN Red List Assessment Criteria (See Box 1). The Conservation Planning and Science Unit has been working with experts across different taxonomic groups (Amphibians, Reptiles, and Mammals) to identify Data Deficient species most likely to need protection and enhanced conservation efforts (See Box 2). If a species is ‘uplisted’ to a threat category, then it is afforded some form of protection by law, and its presence must be taken into account during the Environmental Impact Assessment process (See Box 3).

One species identified early on as requiring urgent work was the Orange Sandveld Lizard (Nucras aurantiaca). Sometimes referred to as Lambert’s Bay Sandveld Lizard, the species had only been captured once when farm workers caught two individuals from a location just outside of Lambert’s Bay on the West Coast of South Africa in 2005. Having never seen an animal like it, the farmer sent the specimens to the provincial conservation body, whereafter they arrived at Stellenbosch University, after which it was formally described. Since then, it has only been recorded once – by a   camera trap set up by researchers looking for something else entirely – in 2011 on a farm 20 km northeast of the original locality.

Its apparent scarcity has made it an almost revered species among the Southern African herpetological community. However, the need for more records has more important implications than merely ticking it off one’s ‘lifer’ list. The habitat in which the species is known to occur has undergone substantial historical transformations, much due to agriculture, and in more recent years, a slew of mining developments have occurred along the West Coast. Indeed, in 2022, a right to prospect for phosphate ore was granted that encompassed both known localities. The need to gather the data to uplist the species is thus crucial to ensure it is safeguarded against irresponsible development.

With this in mind, a team of some of the country’s top herpetologists from the South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI) and Bayworld Museum joined the EWT for two weeks of intensive surveys in November 2022. Braving the summer heat, storms, and deep sand roads, they employed a combination of pitfall traps, drift fences and active searching to find additional records and information that may shed light on the lizard’s ecology, habitat requirements, and population dynamics. Their hard work was rewarded with three more occurrence records, all from a single site adjacent to the camera trap site where the species was recorded. The data gathered from this survey will be used to conduct an updated Red List assessment later this year, with the likely outcome that the species will be placed in the Vulnerable or Endangered category. Once the assessment has been reviewed, the species will be incorporated into the Environmental Screening Tool and accounted for during subsequent development proposals.

In total, 37 amphibian and reptile species were recorded on this highly successful trip, including species of conservation concern such as the Endangered Kasner’s Dwarf Burrowing Skink (Scelotes kasneri) and the Near Threatened Armadillo Girdled Lizard (Ouroborus cataphractus), as well as a potential range expansion for the Cape Long-tailed Seps (Tetradactylus tetradactylus).