The Canary Islands Government Ministry for Ecological Transition, the fight against Climate Change and for Territorial Planning, in collaboration with the Cabildo de Gran Canaria, have captured about a thousand California King snakes (Lampropeltis californiae) on the island already in 2019 as part of the targetted control program against this invasive species.

The counsellor responsible, José Antonio Valbuena, stressed that this project has accumulated about 7,000 catches since 2009 and pointed out that this species, despite not being poisonous, poses a serious danger to biodiversity and the Gran Canaria ecosystem. The program has developed throughout the year, although its period of greatest activity has been centred between the months of February and September due to activity of this snake and the numbers of sightings.

By location, the snake populations are focused mainly around four nuclei. The most affected area is between the neighbourhoods of La Solana (Telde) and San Roque (Valsequillo), while the rest of the sigtings have been detected in Montaña de Amagro (Gáldar), Montaña La Data (San Bartolomé de Tirajana) and Barranco de Guiniguada (Las Palmas de Gran Canaria).

If you come across of this type of snake,  contact the control program team through the main emergency number 112, or via mobile phone numbers 608 098 296 and 645 041 733 or through the free mobile application “Lampropeltis”.

The California royal snake (Lampropeltis californiae), native to the southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico, is included in the Spanish Catalogue of Invasive Exotic Species, so it is prohibited to possess, transport, traffic and trade in live specimens, as they are a species that can survive in the wild and/or reproduce.