Taiwan pays residents to catch invading Cuban lizards

Jun 19, 2010, 15:20 GMT

Taipei - A Taiwanese county on Saturday offered cash rewards for people to catch the Cuban lizard Anolis Sagrei, an invasive species threatening local fauna.

The Chiayi County Government said it will pay 10 Taiwanese dollars (30 US cents) for each Anolis Sagrei, or Brown Anole, caught. The lizards can be turned in dead or alive.

Brown Anole is native to Cuba and the Bahamas, but has invaded the United States, Honduras and other Caribbean islands.

They were discovered in Taiwan in 2000, and have quickly multiplied in the western country of Chiayi and the eastern county of Hualien.

In a similar campaign last year, Chiayi residents caught 89,752 Brown Anoles. As the Cuban lizards continue to multiply, the Council of Agriculture has allocated funds for a renewed campaign this year.

'They multiply fast and eat ants, spiders and local lizards' eggs, so they threaten local species and ecology,' Cheng Yung-hua, an official from the Chiayi County government, told the German Press Agency dpa.

'The United States and Honduras have given up the fight against Brown Anole because there are too many of them. But for us, it is not too late yet, becaue the population of Brown Anole is not too large,' he said.