In the year 1995 researchers estimated that only 51 Antiguan racer snakes were alive on the Great Bird Island.

However, in the last 20 years, conservation efforts have boosted numbers from an estimated 50 to over 1,100 individuals by eradicating non-native predators and reintroducing the snake to other Antiguan islands in its original range.

[5] The Antiguan racer prefers to live in shady woodlands with dense undergrowth, although it is also found on sandy beaches and rocky outcrops.

[3] The Antiguan racer appears to have poor resistance to common snake mites, which are not naturally found in Antigua, which has ended some attempts at captive breeding.

[3] While the species sometimes hunts for its food, it is typically an ambush predator, waiting for prey with most of its body buried beneath leaves.

The thick forest that covered the islands teemed with lizards, the snakes' favored prey, and the racer had no natural predators to threaten it.

[7] In the late 15th century, European settlers began to colonize and develop Antigua and Barbuda for huge plantations of sugarcane.

[6] The female racers laid 11 eggs with five hatching, but proved to be difficult to keep in captivity due to their feeding habits and low resistance to diseases.

[10] Efforts began to clear other offshore islands of Antigua of rats and mongooses to reintroduce the snake so the population could continue to grow.