Israeli scientists and researchers have issued a warning about the spread of the Egyptian gecko, known as the “Gecko”, in the Wadi Araba region in the south of the country, which threatens its ecosystem.
In a report published by the Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth, the Nature and Parks Authority stated that it is seeking help from local residents of Wadi Araba in locating Egyptian geckos and lizards, which have begun to spread in the region and multiply at a terrible speed and devour agricultural crops.
In this context, Shai Meri, a professor of science at Tel Aviv University, said that Egyptian lizards and geckos can devour anything and can overcome any resistance, and have the ability to cause massive damage to any ecosystem, stressing that the Israel Nature and Parks Authority is seeking help from The population determines the locations of these species in preparation to besiege them and prevent their further spread.
He said that Egyptian lizards were spotted eating small birds, adding that they are considered a very aggressive species, which bite hard and reproduce in a fast life cycle.
Danger to the environment
Miri added that his assessment confirmed that these Egyptian geckos and lizards had eliminated all local geckos and had become a threat to the environmental situation in Israel and threatened to devour all agricultural crops.
The newspaper pointed out that this type of gecko was not known to Israel before 2014, adding that two Egyptian geckos were spotted this month in the Kibbutz Eliphaz area in the south of Wadi Araba.
According to the report, the Nature and Parks Authority was unable to determine how the species traveled all the way to Wadi Araba, which led it to seek help from local residents.