Brit holiday warning as Balearics face horror invasion – and experts fear creatures are spreading | The Sun

THE Balearics face a horror invasion of snakes as experts warn the creatures are spreading.

Calls have been made for the horseshoe whip snake to be declared an invasive species in all the Balearic Islands – not just the Canary Islands and Ibiza.


Reptile experts have warned the snake “behaves as an invader" and could be spreading around Spain.

Experts from the Spanish Congress of Herpetology are now set to make a formal request to the Ministry of Ecological Transition for the creature to be listed as an invasive species in all the islands.

The horseshoe whip snake can grow up to 1.5 meters and is native to southwestern Europe and northern Africa.

The species is believed to have existed in the Balearic Islands since the early 2000s after wealthy property owners imported olive trees from mainland Spain.

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Horseshoe whip snakes are not venomous but can be aggressive if attacked or cornered.

The snakes have heads that are wider than their necks and dark spots which are closely spaced, as well as a light horseshoe-shaped mark on their neck and the back of the head.

Researches have found that snakes have invaded half of Ibiza’s land area.

The horseshoe whip snake is the most common snake in Ibiza, and research suggests that they are endangering the survival of a local lizard species.

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Between 2016 and 2021, regional government wildlife teams captured 8,274 ladder snakes and horseshoe whipsnakes on Ibiza and Formentera.

Sightings of the snake are not uncommon in Spain. Several sightings have been reported.

A whip snake measuring over a meter long was found in a hospital in Spain in July.

Meanwhile, a family in Totana discovered a whip snake in their living room.

The family contacted the police and the snake was released.

Anyone who encounters one is advised to call the 112 emergency line.

The species is a member of the family Colubridae.

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