New nature reserve for Critically Endangered Blue Iguana

March 2009. The Cayman Islands Government has taken decisive action to help save the world’s most endangered iguana. Almost 200 acres of government-owned prime dry shrubland habitat in the east interior of the Grand Cayman is being protected, to provide area for restoration of the Grand Cayman Blue Iguana, Cyclura lewisi.

5 feet long
The Grand Cayman Blue Iguana is a sky-blue, herbivorous, giant lizard. Growing to five feet in length, these iguanas have a life span comparable to humans. They are entirely unique to the island of Grand Cayman in the north-west Caribbean.

2002 – Less than 25 iguanas alive in the wild
A vegetarian giant with red eyes, this was once Grand Cayman’s largest land animal, but Blue Iguanas have suffered a catastrophic decline as humans settled the land. Predation by introduced dogs and cats has been compounded by accelerating habitat loss, and now road kill. By 2002 less than twenty-five wild individuals remained.

Blue Iguana Recovery Programme – 250 wild iguanas
In 2002 the Blue Iguana Recovery Programme (BIRP) was launched, expanding from early captive breeding efforts by the National Trust for the Cayman Islands which started in 1990. The BIRP has achieved remarkable progress over the last seven years, bringing the wild population of Blue Iguanas from functional extinction in 2002, to some two hundred and fifty in the wild by 2009.

Supported also by the Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust and the International Reptile Conservation Foundation, the BIRP first completed a pilot restoration of wild Blue Iguanas in the QE II Botanic Park on Grand Cayman, developing and testing techniques for successful releases. Then the Programme embarked on large-scale population restoration in the Salina Reserve, a 625-acre National Trust protected area in north-eastern Grand Cayman.

No suitable habitat
Unfortunately less than 14% of the Reserve area is suitable Blue Iguana habitat, which severely limits the extent to which a self-sustaining wild population of Blue Iguanas can be restored there. By 2008 the BIRP was in danger of losing momentum, with the Salina Reserve habitat approaching carrying capacity. Without more protected land becoming available, population restoration for the Blue Iguanas was about to stall.

EU grant
But at the same time, a European Union grant proposal, shared with the Turks & Caicos Islands and the British Virgin Islands, came together in 2008. In the Cayman Islands, the project promises funds to build a visitor centre for a nature reserve featuring the dry shrubland ecosystem, and the Grand Cayman Blue Iguana. The Cayman Islands Government decision has now supported and enabled that project, by contributing government land to establish the nature reserve itself.

There may soon be enough Blue Iguana habitat available to raise the wild Blue Iguana population to a level that can be self-sustained in the long term, especially if the Cayman Islands are successful in adding some adjacent land to the new protected area. A tantalizing prospect is in sight, where a captive breeding programme may no longer be needed, where Blue Iguanas of all ages and sizes are roaming free and protected, breeding and sustaining their numbers without the need for constant human intervention.

From a scenario of little hope in 2002, the BIRP and its partners are now in sight of the kind of success that is all too rare in the world today. The Grand Cayman Blue Iguana can be saved from extinction, and in a few more years the Cayman Islands may be able to boast that they have achieved just that.

Courtesy of the Blue Iguana Recovery Programme
Location of new protected area in relation to Salina Reserve and QE II Botanic Park, Grand Cayman. Green highlight indicates good Blue Iguana habitat.

Carol Perehudoff shares a warm moment with Pedro, who was later savagely killed by vandals who raided the sanctuary.

Grand Cayman–Carefully, I stalked my prey, sidling up to the outdoor picnic tables where the species was known to forage for food. I was in luck. Several of the herd had gathered, flinging back suit jackets, opening takeout containers and juice bottles. Yes, the seating area behind this fast food restaurant in George Town was an excellent place to spot international bankers. Sheesh, I thought, clutching a salad. If I don’t start driving my rental car soon, this is as close to Grand Cayman wildlife as I’m going to get. Grand Cayman, the fifth-largest banking centre in the world, has other attractions besides fine beaches and glitz, but the best wilderness pockets are out of the way. Unfortunately, I was scared to drive on the left side of the road, so instead of exploring the island’s far reaches I’d been lolling around on 7-Mile Beach or taking the shuttle bus into George Town. If I wanted to see the blue iguanas, however, I had to get behind the wheel. Blue iguanas, the beauty queens of the reptile world, exist only on Grand Cayman. Capable of growing to more than a metre in length, they’re the most critically endangered iguanas in the world, threatened by deforestation. In 2001, there were fewer than 20 left. But, thanks to the Blue Iguana Recovery program, a captive breeding facility at the Queen Elizabeth II Botanic Park supported by the island’s National Trust, their numbers have crawled up to 250. The next morning, I set off in my lilac Mitsubishi for the park, managing to encounter both rush hour traffic in George Town and the arrival of a cruise ship, with passengers streaming into the road. Finally, I was spit out at a roundabout and sailed down a glorious coastal stretch of Seaview Rd. dotted with lonely beaches and casuarina trees. At the park, I met John Marotta, an enthusiastic New Yorker who works as the warden of the recovery program. He told me that there are probably fewer than 20 blue iguanas left in the wild. “Maria is the last wild adult we caught,” he said. “We found her at Captain Willie’s farm on East End.” As we approached a series of large fenced-in pens, a blue mini-dinosaur came thumping towards me. I stepped behind John. “I think one has escaped.” “That’s Mad Max. He’s a free roamer. He likes to know what’s going on.” Mad Max showed no fear, giving me a closeup look at the sky-blue spikes down his spine and his big jowly head. I couldn’t help asking the obvious. “Why are they blue?” Marotta laughed. “That’s a question no one has answered.” As we toured the pens, Marotta introduced me to the various residents, each one varying in size, shape and hue. “This is Pedro.” Marotta pointed to a blue-grey iguana sunning himself on a rock. “He’s affectionate.” Pedro is such a softie that I was allowed to enter his pen. Crouching down, patting his scaly tough skin, I immediately fell in love. Sure, Mad Max had that bad-boy alpha-male vibe, but with Pedro, you could set up a home, take long walks on the beach, start a family of Smurfs … Pedro, however, was an exception. Generally, the iguanas are loners – except during breeding season between April and May, when the males turn their attention to females and turf wars and become even bluer. “Not the females, though,” said Marotta. “They’re darker and dingier because they don’t want to be harassed.” They must warm to the males sometimes, because the breeding program is successful. We passed cages of little blue iguanas in varying stages of growth. “After two years we release them,” Marotta said as we walked along the park’s Woodland Trail where released iguanas wander freely. “The big problem is getting the land. The National Trust owns the Salina Reserve’s 263 hectares, but only one third is viable living space. The rest is too swampy.” Back at the pens, a battle was brewing. Big Blue, another free roamer, had been eying Mad Max’s turf and the two were circling each other. “This might be the final showdown,” John whispered. But no. After a tense standoff, Big Blue retreated behind a fence while Mad Max strutted around in triumph. Renting a car was worth it, I thought. The best of Grand Cayman may involve a bit of a drive, but bankers can’t be nearly as exciting as this. Since my trip to Grand Cayman, seven blue iguanas at the Recovery Centre were killed by unknown persons. The crime was discovered by volunteers early one morning. The iguanas appeared to have massive internal injuries, as if they had been stamped on violently and repeatedly. Sadly, the body of Pedro is missing, but entrails on the trail outside his pen are a grim sign of his fate. Carol Perehudoff’s trip was subsidized by the Cayman Islands Department of Tourism.

By Diana McAdam
Last Updated: 1:30PM BST 29 Jul 2008

Earlier this year, the Blue Iguana Recovery Programme on Grand Cayman in the Caribbean made international headlines for all the wrong reasons.

On the morning of Sunday May 4, volunteer keepers at the fenced-in facility, which is on the site of the Queen Elizabeth II Botanic Park, found that four of the adult giant blue lizards had been butchered, two others had been left for dead and another was missing.

At least two of the dead females had been preparing to lay precious eggs. The seven animals represented one-third of the adult breeding iguanas cared for at the captive facility.

The critically endangered creatures – which resemble miniature turquoise dragons, can grow up to 6ft long and, in the wild, are believed to live for more than 60 years – are unique to Grand Cayman.

“It’s ugly and deeply shocking,” said the programme’s director Fred Burton at the time of the attack. “These were some of our most high-profile and loved captive iguanas.”

One of the dead, named Pedro, who was described by senior iguana warden John Marotta as “the bluest of the blues”, and was the animal that was introduced to Prince Edward, a keen supporter of the programme, on his 2007 tour of the islands.

When I visited the conservation centre in June, the sense of loss was still palpable.

“We believe that someone broke into the facility with a dog but the animals died of massive trauma, not of dog attack,” said Marotta, who is a chef by profession but has been working at the facility for three years.

“The silver lining to the dark cloud of the attack on the animals is that it has created a lot of national and international interest in the breeding programme. Now, most of the adults have been sponsored and we are fielding queries everyday.”

According to Marotta, blue iguanas, which are by nature vegetarian, inhabited the island for around 3m years with no natural predators.

However, the past 60 years alone have seen the introduction of rats, cats and dogs – not to mention a massive increase in both the human population and the number of cars on the island (iguanas like to sunbathe on tarmac roads and are frequently run over).

Add the fragmentation of their natural habitat due to land development and it is not surprising that the numbers have reached a critical level.

“Historically, they would live in the bush and would bury their eggs where the bush meets the beach – right where the roads were built on the island,” explained Marotta.

These are solitary animals by design. A roaming male would have a territory of about 30 acres, a female only one or two. The breeding season – which is when their blue colour is at its most intense – generally last from the end of February to beginning of May, and the eggs take 10 weeks to hatch. Here, we make sure that we know where the females have laid so that we can dig the eggs up and incubate them.”

It is difficult to describe exactly how extraordinary these beasts are in the flesh. It really like walking with dinosaurs. They vary in colour from grey to a vivid blue, have remarkable black feet and red eyes.

According to Burton, as well as being highly intelligent, blue iguanas possess acute hearing and colour vision, have highly evolved senses of taste and smell, and enjoy complicated social lives. They are, by nature, rampantly promiscuous.

Their closest relative is the brown iguana (Cyclura nubile caymanensis), which live on Grand Cayman’s sister islands, Little Cayman and Cayman Brac, and is in turn a sub-species evolved from the Cuban iguana (Cyclura nubile).

At present, the facility contains 104 caged blue iguanas of varying ages and 40 adults of breeding age.

Pairs are selectively mated, as the aim is to keep the gene pool as broad as possible. A healthy female can lay anything up to 24 eggs – although the average is closer to 10 – and the programme currently has a 90 per cent rate of successful hatchings.

“Ultimately, we want at least 1,000 free-roaming animals in the wild,” Marotta said.

At that point they will go from critically endangered to endangered, and the wild populations in the Botanic Park and the Salina Reserve will be self-sustaining.

“What we really need is a third site – at least 500 acres of viable property for them to roam on.

The breeding programme is successful – we are hatching 150 eggs every year. Now our biggest problem is where we are going to put the hatchlings when they are released.”

As well as the National Trust of the Cayman Islands and the International Reptile Conservation Foundation, one of the programme’s main supporters is the Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust, which is based on Jersey, and whose mission is to save wild animals from extinction.

It is incredible to think that in 1991, when Fred Burton established the recovery programme, there were estimated to be less than 25 blue iguanas left in the wild. Today, thanks entirely to his team and the programme’s success, these unique creatures really do have a future.

Blue Iguanas at a glance:

* The Grand Cayman blue iguana is the most endangered iguana in the world. There are only 10-25 left in the wild
* They can live for more than 60 years
* They eat flowers and fruit, and need shelter for living and soil to dig their nests in
* They have thick scaly skin, strong teeth and jaws and powerful digging claws
* They lie in the sun to get warm and increase their energy levels. As they get warmer they change from grey to blue.
* The blue colour also intensifies during the mating season

BBC NEWS

By Georgina Kenyon

Wednesday, 7 May 2008


Dr Colin Wakelin tries in vain to save a female iguana

Police on Grand Cayman are hunting criminals who slaughtered six of the island’s iconic and critically endangered giant blue iguanas.

The attacks, which also left three other animals injured, occurred on Saturday night in a captive breeding facility on the Caribbean island. The police are confident the crime was perpetrated by humans. The dead and injured iguanas seem to have been gouged by knives and show evidence of being kicked and jumped on.

Volunteers who look after the iguanas discovered the bodies on the Sunday morning. There have not been any arrests yet but local people and businesses have donated reward money for information of KYD$11,000.

The ferocity of the attack has shocked islanders

“This incomprehensible carnage has brought people to tears,” said Frederic Burton, director of the Blue Iguana Recovery Programme (BIRP) which is responsible for breeding the iguanas in pens before they are freed into the wild.

To the people on the island of Grand Cayman, it was not unlike the slaughter of the gorillas last year in the Democratic Republic of Congo, with the body of one dead iguana still missing but its entrails left strewn outside the pen in which it lived. Some of the pens have blood on the walls.

The iguanas are turquoise blue in colour, weigh up to 10kg, live for about 20 years. They are listed by the World Conservation Union (IUCN) as critically endangered.

-GRAND CAYMAN BLUE IGUANA

-Scientific name: Cyclura lewisi
-Related to iguanas found on Cayman Brac and Little Cayman, but quite distinct
-Never stops growing, but growth rate slows with age
-Biggest adults believed to be up to 1.4m nose to tail
-Endemic to Grand Cayman, i.e. found nowhere else
-Blue colour only expressed in the presence of other iguanas

However, because of a successful captive breeding programme on the island, supported by local and international NGOs and community groups, the species seemed to have been saved from extinction and their numbers were growing.

While in 2005 there were only 25 of these iguanas left in the world, now there are 140 iguanas in the captive breeding facility on Grand Cayman, and another 230 iguanas living freely in a nature reserve on the island.

“This has shocked people far beyond just the conservation community and brought out stronger than ever the way this uniquely Caymanian creature has become an icon of the Cayman Islands’ national culture,” explained Burton.

“Each of the blue iguanas killed had rich life stories and distinct personalities. Many people feel they have lost close personal friends,” he said.

There has not been an attack on the iguanas like this before from people, although iguanas have been killed by wild dogs.

One of the dead adult iguanas was “Digger”, a symbol of the BIRP and the iguana that appears on one of the postage stamps of the Cayman Islands.

“They were also the ones that people knew and loved. It is a setback and a horrible tragedy,” said Burton.

The attack comes at a time when naturalists on the island are hoping for government legislation to protect significant tracts of shrubland for the iguanas and other animals.

These deaths were of mature adults, capable of producing large egg clutches and could have kick-started the restoration of a wild population. It is estimated that there needs to be at least 1,000 iguanas for the population to become stable and have a real chance of surviving.

“We are hoping for between 400-500 hectares of land to be protected – this is the area we need to support 1,000 iguanas, ” said Dr Matt Cottam, senior research officer for the Cayman Islands Department of the Environment.

“We are all so shocked at this slaughter. But we are also overwhelmed by the support from the local and international community since this news broke,” he said.

The BIRP and National Trust staff and volunteers are guarding the facility while additional security systems are put in place.

Read the article at BBCNews Here

By DAVID McFADDEN


Tuesday 6th May, 2008 Posted: 17:47 CIT (22:47 GMT) 

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Cayman Island authorities are investigating the violent deaths of a half-dozen giant blue iguanas that are among the most imperiled creatures on the planet.

Five captive Grand Cayman Blue Iguanas, critically endangered lizards that resemble miniature turquoise dragons, were found scattered across a breeding park in the British dependency after they apparently were stomped and gouged, scientists said.

The sixth dead iguana’s entrails were found strewn outside its pen in the fenced-in facility in Grand Cayman, according to Fred Burton, director of a program that has brought the rare reptiles back from the brink of extinction.

Feral cats kill young blue iguanas, and adult iguanas are sometimes killed by dogs. But humans were almost certainly behind the weekend massacre, which wiped out more than half of the adult breeding iguanas at the facility, Burton said.

The Royal Cayman Islands Police have launched a criminal investigation, including forensics work on the dead iguanas.

“It’s ugly and deeply shocking,” Burton said Tuesday from the Blue Iguana Recovery Program. “These were six of our most high-profile, most-loved captive iguanas.”

Two females had been preparing to lay eggs to help the species repopulate when they were killed late Saturday or early Sunday.

The blue iguana, which frequently lives more than 20 years and grows to more than 5 feet (1.5 meters), is only found in the wild on Grand Cayman. It is a subspecies of the Cuban rock iguana, and is closely related to the rock iguana that is found on the islands of Cayman Brac and Little Cayman.

Only 10 to 25 cold-blooded blue iguanas, which eat flowers and fruits, were known to exist in the wild before Hurricane Ivan ravaged the Caribbean island in 2004. Since then, the captive breeding program has restored about 200 of the reptiles to a wildlife sanctuary on the island’s northwest, Burton said.

“We have a broad constituency of support here, but this appalling incident is an acid reminder that things can’t always go our way,” he said.

Read the Article at Associated Press

Tuesday 6th May, 2008  

May 6, 2008—Wildlife officials in the Cayman Islands are struggling to determine who killed six extremely rare blue iguanas found butchered in a nature preserve over the weekend.

The reptiles were found Sunday at Queen Elizabeth II Botanical Park, a refuge for the iguanas and other wildlife on Grand Cayman Island.

The crime is a devastating blow to the species, which is found only on the small Caribbean island and is listed as critically endangered by the World Conservation Union (IUCN).

Most of the remaining blue iguanas live in Queen Elizabeth Park, where a breeding program was begun in 2001. Outside the park, as few as ten of the animals are thought to survive, according to IUCN.

The six dead iguanas were found with their bodies crushed, and some had also been lacerated and partially dismembered.

“This is a despicable act that was carried out by cowardly and cruel individuals,” Chief Inspector Richard Barrow told the Cayman News Service.

“The community … is truly sickened by this incident, and we will not stop until we find who is responsible for this senseless act.”

No motives or suspects were known, he added, but officials are offering a thousand-Cayman-dollar reward for information leading to an arrest.

Read the Article at National Geographic News

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Cayman Island authorities are investigating the violent deaths of a half-dozen giant blue iguanas that are among the most imperiled creatures on the planet.

Five captive Grand Cayman Blue Iguanas, critically endangered lizards that resemble miniature turquoise dragons, were found scattered across a breeding park in the British dependency after they apparently were stomped and gouged, scientists said.

The sixth dead iguana’s entrails were found strewn outside its pen in the fenced-in facility in Grand Cayman, according to Fred Burton, director of a program that has brought the rare reptiles back from the brink of extinction.

Feral cats kill young blue iguanas, and adult iguanas are sometimes killed by dogs. But humans were almost certainly behind the weekend massacre, which wiped out more than half of the adult breeding iguanas at the facility, Burton said.

The Royal Cayman Islands Police have launched a criminal investigation, including forensics work on the dead iguanas.

“It’s ugly and deeply shocking,” Burton said Tuesday from the Blue Iguana Recovery Program. “These were six of our most high-profile, most-loved captive iguanas.”

Two females had been preparing to lay eggs to help the species repopulate when they were killed late Saturday or early Sunday.

The blue iguana, which frequently lives more than 20 years and grows to more than 5 feet (1.5 meters), is only found in the wild on Grand Cayman. It is a subspecies of the Cuban rock iguana, and is closely related to the rock iguana that is found on the islands of Cayman Brac and Little Cayman.

Only 10 to 25 cold-blooded blue iguanas, which eat flowers and fruits, were known to exist in the wild before Hurricane Ivan ravaged the Caribbean island in 2004. Since then, the captive breeding program has restored about 200 of the reptiles to a wildlife sanctuary on the island’s northwest, Burton said.

“We have a broad constituency of support here, but this appalling incident is an acid reminder that things can’t always go our way,” he said.

Read the Article at Associated Press

Tuesday 6th May, 2008
Six critically endangered Grand Cayman Blue Iguanas were brutally killed in the Cayman Islands QE II Botanic Park. The crime was discovered by volunteers with the National Trust’s Blue Iguana Recovery Programme, shortly after 9am on Sunday morning.

Stamped on

The iguanas appeared to have massive internal injuries, as if they had been stamped on violently and repeatedly. Some were also cut and partially dismembered. Three were found dead inside their breeding pens, two had been carried out of their pens and left in the tour area outside. The body of the sixth is still missing, but entrails on the trail outside his pen are a grim sign of his fate.

Royal Cayman Islands Police

Department of Environment enforcement officer Carl Edwards was on the scene almost immediately, fast followed by the Royal Cayman Islands Police who began forensic work and have commenced an investigation. Dr. Colin Wakelin from the Department of Agriculture closed a large gash in one of the surviving victims and began making arrangements for an autopsy to confirm the causes of death, which will probably take place later today.

The dead iguanas were the adult breeding males “Yellow”, “Pedro”, “Digger”, and “Eldemire”. The grand matriarch of the captive facility, “Sara”, was also dead. “Jessica” had been thrown out of the neighbouring pen and was in shock, but still moving. Both females had been preparing to lay eggs.

The effort to save Jessica’s life went on into the night, but despite specialist advice by telephone from the Wildlife Conservation Society and Dr. Wakelin’s resourceful and determined attempts to stabilize her, she passed away during the night.

Unknown motive

The persons responsible may have broken into the Park after closing hours, and found a way into the fenced-in captive breeding facility. No motive is known for this act of extreme violence against these unique and much-loved symbols of Cayman’s natural heritage. Anyone with relevant information is asked to contact the
Royal Cayman Islands Police.

Read the Article at WildlifeExtra.com

Squatting on a rock in his special aquarium at the Indianapolis Zoo, Baby Blue looks like an ordinary lizard. Nothing special, just a little greenish-brown lizard with a prehistoric head swiveling around to stare balefully at passers-by.

What the lizard represents is monumental, however. Baby Blue, which is not the creature’s real name but only a designation, is one of the rarest lizards in the world — a baby Grand Cayman Island blue iguana born at the zoo as part of “Project Iguana. “The purpose of the program is to breed six species of endangered rock iguanas from the Caribbean and West Indies. When the baby grows up, he will develop brilliant blue pigmentation unique to his species.

Only about 15 to 20 blue iguanas remain in the wild, said Lynne Villers, curator of forests and deserts at the Indy Zoo. About 120 live in the world when counting the captive population. Indianapolis is the only zoo with babies, however. Their two breeding pairs produced two clutches of eggs. Two hatched in April and five hatched in July.

“They did a population census for the species and really had some depressing news,” said Villers. In the wild, the species is restricted to Grand Cayman Island and is endangered because of the expansion of resorts and habitat degradation, as well as being hit by cars and caught by feral dogs and cats, said Villers. She said researchers at Grand Cayman are considering catching all the wild specimens before they are killed.

“One hurricane could wipe them all out,” she said.

“We wanted to focus on their breeding efforts and eliminate as many variables as possible,” she said.

Baby Blue will go to another facility and get a real name later. He will not be a Hoosier when he grows up because of the “SSP,” said Villers.

The Species Survival Plan is a national program where zoos and preservation facilities try to manage the captive species as a whole instead of each zoo breeding and keeping its own animals. The animals are bred and moved to ensure good demographics and genetics. The Indy zoo currently has 16 species that are endangered enough to need an SSP and are the most heavily managed, said Villers.

This is all “behind the scenes” work at the zoo — something the public rarely sees. For example, curators at the zoo hold four “stud books” on various animals, such as the brown lemur and African elephant. The stud book contains the records and lineage of all the captive animals and helps researchers devise a species’ SSP. Villers has a longtime interest in ring-tailed lemurs and holds their stud book.

She said a former Indianapolis Zoo curator visited the Dominican Republic and developed an interest in the rare rock iguanas. The programs to breed and preserve the lizards have taken roots, making the Indy Zoo one of the premiere researchers and breeders.

The baby blue lizards remain on display in the Desert Dome at the Indianapolis Zoo in a special, informational display. Other endangered rock iguanas can be seen throughout the open deserts habitat, including “Pharaoh,” a spectacular, full-grown Grand Cayman Island Blue Iguana.

This article was published in HoosierTimes.com, http://www.hoosiertimes.com on January 5, 2003

Well, the world can be a cold and indifferent place, especially when you’re trying to get some public attention for an animal that strikes out in the popularity polls. Unlike, say, a koala bear, the iguana isn’t cute and furry; unlike an elephant or tiger, it isn’t especially majestic; unlike an eagle, it isn’t stirringly symbolic.

But Rick is desperate. He’s a conservation biologist at the Fort Worth Zoo and an executive for the Fort Worth-based International Iguana Foundation (I had no idea it was right here in Texas the city ought to put up a billboard or something).

There aren’t any live specimens to show off the nearest blue iguana is at a zoo in Brownsville so Rick sent me some photos to look over. They included different poses, profiles and headshots, but all showed a big blue lizard with demonic red eyes and a spiny ridge of stegosaurus spikes running the length of its body. I called Rick back.

“It looks scary,” I said. He was dismayed.

“Listen, of all the iguana species, this one just has massive public appeal,” he said, leading me to wonder how appealing the public finds the rest of iguana world. “And the situation is absolutely dire.”

It’s pretty dire, all right. The blue iguana is so close to extinction that if it doesn’t get some help pretty quick, it’s going to be a footnote in old zoological texts.

It’s native to Grand Cayman, a bad piece of biological luck for the blue iguana because the Caribbean island is developing rapidly. There aren’t any remote mountainous areas where a threatened species can retreat and regenerate.

They can reach age 50 and grow to 5 feet long, but few make it that long. They get eaten by predators, household pets and mongooses, which were introduced to the Caribbean in hopes of controlling snakes. They get run over while basking on the new, enticingly warm asphalt roadways. They used to be casually killed by people who saw them and said, “Yuck, a lizard,” but now they’re so scarce they’re rarely seen.

“I got a glimpse of one in the wild once, several years ago,” Rick said dreamily, drifting for a minute on the memory of that brief, distant sighting.

Their population in the wild is estimated at no more than 25 and maybe as few as 10; there are only 90 or so in captivity.

So I told Rick I would share the plight of the blue iguana, even though it still gave me a little shiver of alien-species revulsion. After all, I agree wholeheartedly with Rick’s contention that when a species goes extinct, our world is permanently the worse for it.

But a funny thing happened when I went back to look at iguana photos. The longer I looked, the more appealing they became, with their ancient, wary features and their exotic turquoise-and-onyx coloring.

I found myself drifting away a little bit while sitting at my desk or pushing a grocery cart or driving.

I imagined the huge lizard crashing through the Caribbean bush or sunning itself on a rock, its hue deepening from blue-gray to a gorgeous cobalt as it warms up.

I was hooked. I was dreaming about blue iguanas.

Rick and a consortium of fellow iguana scientists want to launch a public campaign on several fronts: public education to protect them on Grand Cayman; relocation of some animals to neighboring islands; intensified captive breeding programs.

One particular incentive to help the blue iguana might be that, with lizards, your conservation dollar goes an awfully long way. The International Iguana Foundation (I wish they had T-shirts) is credited with saving the Jamaican brown iguana a few years ago on a thrifty budget of $150,000 or so. That’s a fraction of the millions it costs to protect elephants or tigers or giant pandas.

To help, you can contact Rick Hudson in Fort Worth, 817-759-7177. Or you can visit www.Cyclura.com (“Cyclura” is the scientific name for the order that includes iguanas and other lizards). The site has photos and lots of handy iguana-related merchandise, proceeds of which benefit conservation.

You might get a shiver. But you might also, as I did, have beautiful blue iguana dreams.

Jacquielynn Floyd is a columnist for The Dallas Morning News.