According to an article in the New York Times, this summer marks a major milestone for the five foot blue iguana. The blue iguana lives on the Grand Cayman Island in the Caribbean where over 500 have been released into the wild, and have been breeding in three different conservation sites. The blue iguana suffered heavy predation over the past decades. If they survived going up against stray dogs, feral cats and rats, they would often end up as roadkill from sunbathing in the busy streets. By 2002 there were only 12 of the blue iguanas left. It's estimated that in two or three more years the population will reach the conservation goal of 1,000 iguanas living in the wild, where they will then end the breeding program.
It's really great to see this beautiful endangered-species make a comeback. From 12 to an increase of more than 500 in such a short time is a major success. Hopefully they will be able to live in the wild without such heavy predation. Maybe the population control of stray dogs could be another issue to look at in preserving the species further.
No comments:
Post a Comment