Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1546781
13 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 27 SEPTEMBER 2026 NEWS Leopard snake raises fears of extinction sightings fell to 18 in 2026 over-de- vel- opment, show only a handful of sightings in the past five years. By contrast, towns that have retained green spaces— Balzan, Birkirkara, Rabat, Mo- sta, Żejtun and Żurrieq—con- tinue to record leopard snakes regularly. "All four snake species have adapted to living alongside hu- mans, most probably attracted by invasive rodent prey and ar- tificial water sources," Dobbs said. "However, that was at a time when more Maltese properties still had gardens and traditional Maltese stone walls for the snakes to survive, thrive and disperse. That no longer exists at the scale it once did." Dobbs notes that San Anton Gardens in Attard, one of the few urban areas still recording leopard snakes, faces major renovation work, raising questions about the survival of its wildlife popula- tion. Roads kill 63% of all snakes across all four species. Cat predation officially accounts for 11% but Dobbs emphasises this figure significantly under- states the real impact. "You don't often find the evidence because the cat eats the snake or drags it off into a hedge somewhere," he said. "Cat predation is a significant factor in the decline of these species." The leopard snake's slow movement makes it particu- larly vulnerable to vehicles and predators. Dobbs estimates the species could reach functional extinc- tion—too few individuals with sufficient genetic diversity to sustain a wild population— within a decade. "It would be possible that in 15 years' time we might find the odd specimen now and again, but they're not breeding enough to sustain a popula- tion," he said. The Environment and Re- sources Authority (ERA) is aware of the decline, but Dobbs says action lags behind acknowledgement. "There's a gap between acknowledging it and actually doing something about it. Malta is painfully slow at acting upon things." The primary recommenda- tion is a captive breeding pro- gramme. "ERA and Nature Trust Malta in conjunction with local herpetologists need to set up an official leopard snake captive breeding and re- lease programme into suitable rural locations where there are improved measures in place to limit negative human and non-native species impacts," Dobbs said. Without habitat protection and commitment to preserv- ing green spaces, however, even a breeding programme would struggle. "The key things that will help prevent this and many species from going extinct is the protection of viable habitat," he said. Leopard Snake (Zamenis situla) by Nick Dobbs ©.jpg Ellie Dobbs Algerian Whip Snake relocation on Malta