 The south is drier and dominated by savanna-like brush, including cacti, Copaiba balsam, logwood and acacia.Anole lizards and fer-de-lance snakes are native to the island.Mongooses ("Herpestes auropunctatus"), introduced in the 1800s to control the snake population, have become a particularly cumbersome introduced species as they prey upon bird eggs and have exterminated or endangered a number of native birds, including the Martinique trembler, white-breasted trembler and white-breasted thrasher.