Blue Iguana Project

While endangered megafauna-tigers, gorillas, whales-capture hearts and headlines, lesser-known creatures such as the blue iguana (Cyclura nubila lewisi) edge slowly toward extinction, unnoticed. This rare iguana, indigenous only to Grand Cayman Island, has achieved the unenviable title of the most endangered reptile in the world. Faced with habitat loss and predation by feral animals as well as humans, the remnant wild population of blue iguanas survives in fragmented pockets of its original range. A recent report speculates that fewer than two dozen of these animals still exist in the wild.

WCS Wildlife Health Science veterinarians have been collaborating with Fred Burton of the Iguana Specialist Group on the health-related phases of the Blue Iguana Recovery Plan. The plan, a combined effort between local and international organizations, seeks to restore healthy wild populations of the Grand Cayman Blue Iguana through an integrated program of public awareness, field research, habitat protection, captive breeding, and population restocking. This effort will require additional supplementation of the newly established wild population of blue iguanas in the Queen Elizabeth II Botanic Park, and possible reintroduction to future protected areas in western Grand Cayman.

With funding from the Morris Animal Foundation, WCS veterinarians have begun monitoring the health status of the remaining wild population, evaluating the health of current captive animals on Grand Cayman, and screening the health of the iguanas slated for release. Prior to release, the animals must be vigorous enough to adapt to life in the wild and free from diseases that can devastate the vanishing wild population. 

Following up on Dr. Bonnie Raphael’s initiation of this project, in June 2003, Dr. Stephanie James traveled to Queen Elizabeth II Botanic Park, a 20-acre facility that supports the blue iguana project. This facility has multiple pens where the iguanas are bred and raised. Dr. James performed physical examinations and collected diagnostic samples from the animals slated for future release as well as from the breeding stock at the center and iguanas now living in the wild.

Blood and fecal samples are currently being analyzed in U.S. laboratories and the pending results will determine whether the juvenile animals are good candidates for release. The biological assessments of the wild animals provide a glimpse into the well-being of the wild population, establishing a baseline health profile for the species.

Without intervention, the future of the Grand Cayman blue iguana would be bleak. With the assistance of the WCS veterinarians, the Blue Iguana Recovery Plan strives to reverse this species’ downward trend toward extinction.

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