World’s rarest snake
The Saint Lucia racer is almost certainly the rarest snake in the world, a title inherited from its close neighbour in the Caribbean, the Antiguan racer. This small, harmless snake was once abundant on Saint Lucia’s mainland, but today numbers possibly as few as 20 individuals.
It was once declared extinct, then rediscovered, then lost again, before being rediscovered (again!) in 2012. The surviving Saint Lucia racers are confined to a tiny offshore island called Maria Major, having been wiped out from the mainland by mongooses and other invasive alien animals that prey on the defenceless snakes.
Fascinating facts about Saint Lucia racers
Saint Lucia racer. © Jeremy Holden / Fauna & Flora
Lost & found
The Saint Lucia racer has been mistakenly declared extinct twice.
Saint Lucia racer, Maria Major. Credit: Jeremy Holden / Fauna & Flora
Reptile haven
Maria Major is also home to 90% of all remaining Saint Lucia whiptail lizards, another critically endangered native reptile.
What do Saint Lucia racers eat?
Saint Lucia racers eat lizards and other small vertebrates. Despite their name, Saint Lucia racers don’t move particularly quickly. They tend to rely on ambushing their prey rather than pursuing it.
Where do Saint Lucia racers live?
The Saint Lucia racer was once widely distributed across the country after which it is named. Today this snake is found only Maria Major, a tiny islet close to the Saint Lucia mainland. It favours forest and scrub habitat.
Saint Lucia racer habitat. © Jeremy Holden / Fauna & Flora
Saint Lucia racer habitat on Maria Major island.
What are the main threats to the Saint Lucia racer?
The main threats to the survival of the Saint Lucia racer are non-native predators including mongooses and rats. This ground-dwelling snake evolved without any natural predators (and, therefore, without any defence mechanisms), so the introduction of invasive predators has had a devastating impact on its population.
How many Saint Lucia racers are left?
The Saint Lucia racer was once considered the second most common snake on Saint Lucia. However, following the introduction of small Asian mongooses in the late 19th century the population plummeted.
The species was thought to be extinct until 1973 when a small population was discovered clinging to existence on Maria Major. In 1982, the Saint Lucian government declared the Maria Islands as a nature reserve to help protect the remaining Saint Lucia racers and a number of other rare and endemic species also found there. However, this tiny islet remains at risk from invasive species arriving from the mainland, because it lies less than one kilometre offshore.
The vulnerability of the nature reserve was brought to a head in 2017, when a tourism development project proposed a causeway to link the islands with the mainland. This would literally have paved the way for predatory rats and other invasive species to overrun the Saint Lucia racer’s final natural refuge.
How can we help save the Saint Lucia racer?
Although the Saint Lucia racer is severely threatened, Fauna & Flora hopes to replicate our successful rescue of the Antiguan racer (which in 1995 was probably the world’s rarest snake) and bring this species back from the brink too.
The first priority is to keep the remaining Saint Lucia racers safe. The second priority is to expand their range beyond a single islet to ensure a sustainable long-term future for the snake.
In partnership with Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust and national agencies, Fauna & Flora set up an emergency project to protect the remaining racers from alien invasive predators and spread the word about their importance. We also supported local partners in campaigning against the proposed causeway to the Maria Islands, which would have left the snakes at the mercy of invasive rats.
In the longer term, we plan to breed the Saint Lucia racer in captivity and boost the wild population by reintroducing captive-bred snakes into additional, predator-free sites. Ultimately, Fauna & Flora and partners aim to increase the Saint Lucia racer population to at least 500 individuals spread across at least three locations.
Measuring a Saint Lucia racer. © Toby Ross / Durrell / Fauna & Flora
Collecting data from a Saint Lucia racer during a population survey.
Save the world’s rarest snake
Together, we can bring the Saint Lucia racer back from the brink.
Please help us to reverse its dramatic decline.
Donate todaySaint Lucia racer. © Jeremy Holden / Fauna & Flora