Canary Islands ocean in the middle of the islands of La Gomera, Tenerife and La Palma; where the laurisilva forests grow. The seven major islands, one minor island, and several small islets were originally volcanic islands, formed by the Canary hotspot. The Canary Islands is the only place in Spain where volcanic eruptions have been recorded during the Modern Era, with some volcanoes still active (El Hierro, 2011). Volcanic islands such as those in the Canary chain often have steep ocean cliffs caused by catastrophic debris avalanches and landslides. The Teide volcano on Tenerife is the highest mountain in Spain, and the
La Gomera giant lizard falls within its restricted range. The species is protected by international legislation, and a species recovery plan is in place. On La Gomera, a captive breeding programme has been established in order to increase the number of individuals. To ensure the survival of the remaining populations and facilitate eventual reintroductions, the feral cat population around the species' range needs to be controlled. In his scientific description, the German zoologist R. Hutterer referred the subfossil remains from La Gomera to two subspecies of "Gallotia simonyi" with the differences being size related. He named these "Gallotia simonyi bravoana" and "Gallotia simonyi gomerana".