The idyllic
Caribbean island
of Grand Cayman
But there is
another famous Cayman blue - a species of large, long living lizard native to
the island.
The blue
iguana is the island's biggest land animal.
But size isn't
everything when it comes to survival.
Back in 2002
there were just a dozen or so of these giants left.
“That's really
pretty important, even if we get to 1,000 there is no way that we can sustain a
harvest for the pet trade”
Fred
Burton, Blue Iguana Recovery Programme
The reason for
the decline were the old reliables - the destruction of their habitat and the
encroachment of humans. The species was decimated by car accidents and attacks
from dogs and cats. At one point it was the most threatened iguana species on
the planet.
Now though
there are around 750 of the creatures, land has been set aside for them, they
are being released and are successfully breeding in the wild.
To all intents
and purposes, the blue iguana has been saved.
So how has
this happened when so many other species such as the Golden Toad or
the Liverpool
Pigeon have simply disappeared over the same period?
One of the
factors is a breeding programme run by the Blue Iguana Recovery Programme that
protects the young lizards in their first couple of years when they are
especially vulnerable.
International
agreement
But another
important factor according to Fred Burton who runs the programme, is the
influence of an international agreement called the Convention on the
International Trade in Endangered Species (Cites).
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