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Good practice Imported

Montaña Clara & Alegranza Rabbit and Cat Eradication — Chinijo Archipelago Natural Park

Spain · Montaña Clara · See the Spain profile

Evidence: Observational / pre–post Top 92% 27/100 · Ask Evidence Copilot about this practice

Canary Islands authorities eradicated feral cats from Alegranza (by 1998) and 127 European rabbits from Montaña Clara (2000-2001, EUR 629,306) within the Chinijo Archipelago Natural Park, Spain's first maritime-terrestrial natural park, to protect breeding seabird colonies.

127 individuals
Rabbits removed from Montana Clara (2000-2001)
629306 EUR
Cost of Montana Clara rabbit eradication (2000-2001)
1998 year
Year last feral cat recorded on Alegranza (1994-2002 programme)
Montaña Clara & Alegranza Rabbit and Cat Eradication — Chinijo Archipelago Natural Park

Details

Maturity
Established
Promoter
Cabildo de Lanzarote / Gobierno de Canarias — Parque Natural del Archipiélago Chinijo
Period
1994-2002
Region (NUTS)
ES70
Keywords
biodiversity, invasive species management, protected areas, seabird conservation

Context

The Chinijo Archipelago Natural Park, Spain's first maritime-terrestrial natural park (established 1986), lies off Lanzarote in the Canary Islands and hosts important seabird colonies including Cory's shearwater, Bulwer's petrel and storm-petrels, historically threatened by invasive feral cats and rabbits on the islets of Alegranza and Montana Clara.

Objectives

To eradicate invasive feral cats and rabbits from the islets of Alegranza and Montana Clara in order to protect breeding seabird colonies.

Activities

Cabildo de Lanzarote and Gobierno de Canarias implemented feral cat control on Alegranza and a dedicated rabbit-eradication programme on Montana Clara between 2000 and 2001, as part of a broader 1994-2002 programme.

Results

On Alegranza, feral cat control removed the last recorded animal in 1998. On Montana Clara, the rabbit-eradication programme removed 127 individuals between 2000 and 2001 at a documented cost of EUR 629,306; rabbits have not recolonised the islet since. An independent baseline survey, Rodriguez et al. (2003, Atlantic Seabirds 5: 41-56), subsequently surveyed breeding-seabird status and distribution across the northern islets.

Conclusions

The programme achieved durable removal of both invasive species with no recorded recolonisation of Montana Clara by rabbits. However, it is government-run rather than independently certified, and no islet-specific post-eradication seabird population trend (as opposed to presence/absence status) has been documented.

Implementation
Indicative cost
Medium (€50k–€500k) — EUR 629,306 documented for the Montana Clara rabbit eradication (2000-2001); cost of the Alegranza feral cat control is not specified in available sources.
Time to results
Long (> 3 years) — Overall programme ran 1994-2002; rabbit eradication on Montana Clara concentrated in 2000-2001; last feral cat recorded on Alegranza in 1998.
Staffing & skills
Cabildo de Lanzarote, Gobierno de Canarias

Conditions for success

  • Sustained multi-year control effort (1994-2002) within an established protected-area governance structure
  • Targeted, species-specific eradication methods on each islet

Common failure modes

  • Government-run rather than independently certified
  • No islet-specific post-eradication seabird population trend (only presence/absence status) has been documented

Commonly funded by

National / regional programmes

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Data sources

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