By Alexia Saoulli
THE FISHERIES department said yesterday it planned to construct small ponds around a Nicosia district dam in order to provide an endangered water snake with its predominant food source of frogs.
The Xyliatos dam in the Nicosia district is the natural habitat of the endemic water snake, natrix natrix cypriaca. However, the harmless reptile – protected under EU nature protection laws – is in danger of extinction.
The main problem at Xyliatos dam is the presence of the Largemouth Bass fish, which feed on frogs, the water snakes’ main food source, a fisheries department official told the Cyprus Mail.
“Because of this phenomenon the natrix natrix population has dwindled drastically and unless direct measures are taken to protect it, it will become extinct.”
The natrix natrix can also be found around Paralimni Lake and a few other smaller wetlands. Although the fisheries department has plans to increase the snake population in those areas as well, it said the dam was a priority since it was the snake’s major habitat.
The reason the fish are present in the dam is because someone, unknown to the department, threw a few in there and over the years they’ve bred. The problem is the Largemouth Bass is a “hunter” and feeds on the frogs, leaving no food for the water snakes, and thus leading to their rapidly dwindling population.
Now, the fisheries department, along with the Interior Ministry, the games fund, the environment service, the forestry department, the water development department and Paralimni municipality have decided to work together to fight the problem.
“A German expert, Dr. Brigit Blosat, prepared a series of measures which would help protect the water snake. These included stopping fishing at the dam in order to protect the natural habitat, and the construction of small lakes around the dam to attract frogs,” she said.
She added: “We plan to construct five lakes around the dam and to create frogs’ natural environment so that they are attracted to the area. We might place four or five frogs there initially, but it won’t be necessary eventually since we have plenty of frogs in Cyprus and they will flourish naturally.” The aim is to ensure there is plenty of food to go round for both the snakes and the fish.
Asked when the project would begin construction, she said: “As soon as possible. We’ve picked out the location on each lake and agreed on their design. Now we are waiting for the money to go ahead to try and save the water snake before they decrease in number even more.”
The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.
