A small island in the Caribbean has become a thriving haven for one of the world’s most endangered reptiles news agency I mentioned.
Scientists with the Anguilla National Trust I launched an effort In 2015 to prevent the extinction of iguanas in the Lesser Antilles.
They caught the lizards using long, looped sticks, placed them in ventilated cloth bags, and carried them across the water to Prickley Pier East Cay, an uninhabited island devoid of threats.
The initial group of 10 iguanas has since grown to more than 300 individuals.
Iguanas in the Lesser Antilles face an unusual challenge: a competing species. The green iguana, native to areas farther south in the Americas, breeds with its cousins in the Lesser Antilles.
This hybridization weakens the gene pool and threatens the long-term survival of the species.
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By moving native iguanas to a protected site free of these competitors, conservationists have given the species space to recover on its own terms. For Caribbean communities, protecting local wildlife like these iguanas helps maintain balanced ecosystems.
Healthy reptile populations contribute to seed dispersal and vegetation management, supporting the broader food web on which local hunting and fishing depend. Tourism Industries depend.
The project also united scientists from multiple islands. The researchers later collaborated with the Government of Dominica to recruit additional breeding partners, thus enhancing the genetic health of the growing population.
Prickly Pear East Cay joins four other places around the world where the species is experiencing a recovery, but the global population is thought to still be less than 20,000.
“It’s our thing,” said Devon Carter, research officer at the Anguilla National Foundation. “We don’t have lions, we don’t have elephants, but what we have, we need to appreciate.”
Jenny Daltrey, director of the Caribbean Alliance for conservation groups Fauna & Flora and Re:wild, expressed similar optimistic sentiments.
“Prickly Pear East has become a beacon of hope for these magnificent lizards and proves that when we give local wildlife a chance, they know what to do,” Daltrey said.
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