Fire at Studland Heath may have killed 500 reptiles
A discarded cigarette is thought to have started a fire at the National Trust’s Studland Heath in Dorset.
The blaze on 20 May wiped out wildlife across 2.5 hectares (6 acres) of heathland.
According to owners and managers the National Trust, the fire killed several hundred endangered reptiles, destroyed nesting birds and their chicks and wiped out many rare insects and plants.
The site at Godlingston Heath, east of Studland is one of the few places in Britain where all six native British reptiles can be found.
Alongside the adder, the grass snake, the common lizard and the slow worm, are vulnerable populations of our two rarest species, the sand lizard and the smooth snake.
National Trust experts believe at least 500 reptiles are likely to have died, as well as nests and broods of several species of birds associated with lowland heath, such as the linnet and the very rare Dartford warbler.
Nick Moulton, a reptile expert from the Herpetological Conservation Trust, has scoured the area for surviving reptiles. Those found unharmed will be relocated to areas unaffected by the fire.
The hunt focused on the sand lizard, which is much less able to survive fires than the smooth snake.
"The snakes usually move out before the flames reach them, and their drab colouring makes them extremely hard for predators to see", said Nick Moulton.
"But the lizards are sitting ducks - they tend to stay put and suffer the consequences. If they do survive they are easy for birds of prey and other predators to pick out, particularly the males with their bright green colouring."
A number of healthy sand lizards were found, some of them females pregnant with eggs, which they are on the verge of laying. The animals will be released in suitable spots in the surrounding heathland.
A burned out bird’s nest has been found - it is thought to be that of a shelduck. It is expected to take up to 20 years for the area to be fully re-colonised.
