Following the ruling of the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature the name of this species is Gallotia bravoana, not Gallotia gomerana.

This European endemic species is restricted to La Gomera Island, Spain. It is assessed as Endangered (EN D) globally and for the EU 27 Member States because the most recent population estimate is of 160 individuals, and it is expected that more than 50 mature individuals are present in the population.

The species may also qualify as Critically Endangered under criterion B (restricted geographic range), but more information is required to confirm this. It has a restricted extent of occurrence of very much less than 100 km² (and it is likely to be below 10 km²) and an area of occupancy that is probably less than 10 km². It may occur in only a single threat-defined location defined by the impacts of threats from cats or rockfalls. However, no continuing decline has been reported in any of (i) the number of mature individuals, (ii) extent of occurrence, area of occupancy, (iii) the number of locations or subpopulations, or (iv) the extent and quality of the lizard's habitat. An ongoing decline in the number of mature individuals is possible, and should this be confirmed, or impacts from landslides be found to represent an ongoing decline in the extent and quality of its habitat, it will warrant listing as Critically Endangered applying criterion B1.

This species, thought to be long extinct, was rediscovered as a living animal in 1999, and is known only from two separate inaccessible cliffs 2 km apart, close to the Valle Gran Rey, in the west of the island of La Gomera in the Canary Islands (Spain). Evidence from fossil and subfossil remains suggests that the species once ranged throughout much of La Gomera (Mateo 2007, López-Jurado and Mateo 1995), and the present range is less than one hectare.

It is believed that the species may have been very common prior to its near-extinction, and that it is likely to have remained abundant recently enough to have acted as a food source for humans and domestic animals (believed to have arrived around 2,500 years ago) (Mateo 2007). Although it survived on the main part of the island into historic times, naturalists' accounts suggest that it was already scarce by the 15th century (Mateo 2007), and by the late 19th century it was believed to be extinct.

Based on field surveys in 2009, a global population of around 160 individuals was estimated by Curbero (2010), and a genetic effective population size of 13 has been estimated (Gonzalez et al. 2014). The current population may be the same, and there may be more in captivity than in the wild. Genetic research has found low levels of heterozygosity and support a scenario of long-term isolation for the remnant population (Gonzalez et al. 2014). Rates of inbreeding appear to be low, but sample sizes are necessarily small and so this result should be treated with caution (Gonzalez et al. 2014). The genetic results indicate ongoing dispersal between the surviving subpopulations, suggesting that the extant population is not fragmented and can be considered a single unit for conservation purposes (Gonzalez et al. 2014).

This species was once widespread in many habitat types on La Gomera. Remains have not been found in laurisilva subtropical forest at high elevations. The extant population is restricted to dry cliffs with sparse vegetation. The species is generally diurnal and mostly herbivorous. The females lay a single clutch annually of three to seven eggs (Mateo 2007 reports two to six) on average. This may be a long-lived species: although life history information remains limited and generation length is unknown, it has been suggested that animals could live for up to 60 years (Mateo 2007).

It has been hypothesised that the historical decline was driven by predation by humans and their commensal predators (both domestic cats - from which mortality has been observed - and invasive species such as rats). Still, suggestions that declines and fragmentation were driven or exacerbated by climatic or geological changes linked to vulcanism "cannot be discarded" (Gonzalez et al. 2014).

Based on genetic data, the species has been in decline for at least 230 generations. Still, the species' generation length is sufficiently unclear that this may correspond to an onset decline either long before or just after humans arrived in the archipelago (Gonzalez et al. 2014). The main ongoing threats to this species are predation by feral cats and rock falls within its restricted range; a significant landslide on the cliffs of Valle del Gran Rey has the potential to decimate the last wild population (as has been suggested for the El Hierro Giant Lizard by Henle et al. 2008).

There is no known use of or trade in this species.

It is present in the Parque Rural de Valle Gran Rey. The species is protected by international legislation. The species has been the focus of two LIFE projects: A recovery plan for the giant lizard of La Gomera (LIFE02 NAT/E/008614) and a Programme for the recovery of Gallotia bravoana and its distribution area (LIFE06 NAT/E/000199).

A captive breeding programme has been established on La Gomera, and a species recovery plan is in place. By 2010, the captive population contained 121 captive-born individuals (Curbero 2010). There is a need to control cat populations near the remaining animals. Further surveys are needed on La Gomera within other isolated areas to determine if any more remnant populations of this species persist. The implementation of education programmes for local people has been recommended.