STAFF from Chester Zoo were sent on a mercy mission to collect sand from Waterloo beach to save an endangered species.
The zoo's "Merseyside" sand lizards - the rarest in the UK - require nutrients found only on the Sefton coast to stay alive.
Animal experts filled a lorry with 10 tonnes of sand before driving back to Chester to top up the reptiles' habitat..
Herpetologist Isolde McGeorge, who looks after the zoo's reptiles and amphibians, said: "We have a simulated dune system at the zoo and because the original build contained Southport sand, and lizards and plants from that area, we wanted to make sure it was a complete simulation.
"We've topped up the dune system, and it's the first time we have had to do that in 10 years. You lose a lot of sand through weather degradation, when the wind and rain blows the top layer off."
Miss McGeorge said although the lizards only use the sand to lay their eggs in, its nutrients could be vital in maintaining their food systems.
She added: "We didn't want to use a different type of sand, because there might be important materials in that sand that may be of use to them.
"The invertebrates they feed off eat the grasses found in the habitat. The minerals that go through that plant life may be affected by different sand, and this could have a knock-on effect for the lizards."
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