Planning the Future for a Newly Discovered, Critically Endangered Boa

It was discovered by accident in 2015, and now the Conception Bank silver boa (Chilabothrus argentum) is considered one of the most endangered snakes in the world. With the entire population living in an area of the Bahamas the size of a large parking lot, it’s listed as “Critically Endangered” by the IUCN. Because the small, isolated population of boas is so vulnerable, the organization responsible for managing its habitat – the Bahamas National Trust – turned to CPSG for help.

The goal: to bring stakeholders together to create an action plan that will help ensure the boa’s survival. At the workshop, CPSG used its One Plan Approach to make sure best practices guided consideration of a potential captive program. 

Workshop participants

Participants were engaged and knowledgable with a clear dedication to the survival of the species. Together they envisioned a future where “sustainable populations of the Conception Bank silver boa are secure in the face of existing and future threats and recognized as a species of cultural and biological importance to the Bahamas and the world.” Goals identified to bring about this future include: 

  • Increasing boa habitat quality and number of habitat patches; 
  • Improving protection of Conception Island National Park through enforcement; 
  • Eliminating unwanted human impacts to habitat (such as fire, pets, illegal collection of plants, animals and marine resources, tourism, etc.); and
  • Establishing ex situ colonies for assurance, increasing population size, retention of genetic diversity, eventual reintroduction, and research into reproduction, life history, and stress response.

The Bahamas National Trust and partners will take the lead on carrying out the plan, in collaboration with Dr. Graham Reynolds of the University of North Carolina Asheville, who initially discovered the boas and conducted the only surveys of the species, and Dustin Smith and colleagues at the North Carolina Zoo. We are grateful to North Carolina Zoo for engaging CPSG to help with this project and for providing funds to make it possible.