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.

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, Cayman Islands, in the north-west Caribbean.

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.

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. Still operating under the aegis of the National Trust, but partnering with the local Department of Environment and the QE II Botanic Park, 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.

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.

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.

Especially if the Cayman Islands are successful in adding some adjacent land to the new protected area, 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. 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.

For more information, please contact:

Frederic J Burton
Director, Blue Iguana Recovery Programme,
National Trust for the Cayman Islands
fjburton@blueiguana.ky
Tel: +1 345 916 2418

Gina Ebanks-Petrie
Director, Department of Environment,
Cayman Islands Government
Gina.Ebanks-Petrie@gov.ky
Tel: +1 345 949 8469

Samuel Rose
Assistant Secretary,
Ministry of Tourism, Environment, Investment & Commerce,
Cayman Islands Government
Samuel.Rose@gov.ky
Tel: +1 345 949 7900

Quentin Bloxam
Director of Conservation Management
Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust
Quentin.Bloxam@durrell.org
Tel: +44 (0)1534 860000

John Binns
CEO
International Reptile Conservation Foundation
jfb@ircf.org
Tel (408)270-3886

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Security Measures at Blue Iguana Facility
The captive breeding and head-starting facility for the Grand Cayman Blue Iguanas, located in the QE II Botanic Park, is no longer viewable from the Park’s woodland trail.

This is an unfortunate consequence of heightened security at the facility, following the killing of seven captive Blue Iguanas in May 2008 – in a case which has still not been solved. That grim event, followed by increasing incidences of wild dogs invading the QE II Botanic Park, has required security fencing as the only long-term solution.

A security guard has been protecting the facility since last May. The flood of heartfelt donations and assistance which came to the Blue Iguana Recovery Programme and the National Trust in the wake of the attack have been focussed both on covering the substantial security guard cost, and on building the high-security fence now in operation.

The four breeding pens which were formerly visible from the woodland trail are of necessity within the secured area, and so can’t be viewed from outside. Guided tours inside the facility are still available, however. The Blue Iguana Safari tour, which covers inside the captive facility and also the free roaming iguanas throughout the Park, is offered at 11am every day except Sundays, with tickets available on arrival at the Botanic Park ticket booth.

“Seeing the captive facility behind a high security fence leaves me with very mixed feelings” says programme director Fred Burton. “Obviously in view of what happened last year, this is absolutely necessary, but it is very sad that we need to spend so much on physical protection for such a well-loved symbol of Cayman’s natural heritage.”

Behind the big fence, the iguanas in the captive facility continue to thrive. So long as more protected habitat becomes available, the programme is on course to continue full scale restoration of Blue Iguanas to the wild.

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Plan to save Grand Cayman’s Blue Iguana now hinges on new protected area In a four-day meeting, the third version of an evolving strategic plan to save Grand Cayman’s Blue Iguana, has just been formulated. The long-term vision of the Blue Iguana Recovery Programme is now almost within reach.

The updated plan now hinges on promised action by the Cayman Islands Government. To enable full recovery of this unique symbol of Caymanian wildlife, an area of Crown land in the east interior of Grand Cayman must become protected.

“We’re at a pivotal stage of the programme, now” says the Blue Iguana Recovery Programme’s director, Fred Burton. “We are poised to quickly restore a viable population of Blues in the wild, but will be totally stuck unless we can secure some more protected shrubland habitat. We have over 100 hatchings this year that will be ready for release by 2010, and we must be ready for that or else they will have nowhere to go.”

The renewed Species Recovery Plan ranges from education and awareness through captive breeding and iguana releases, to establishment and management of protected areas. Many aspects depend on the new protected area proposal, including an EUfunded
project to build a visitor centre and shrubland education centre there, forming a major new nature tourism attraction in the East End.

Roger Corbin, the newly elected Chairman of the National Trust, says “ This project, which now enjoys the support of the Department of Environment and internationally recognized scientific bodies, has been a programme of the!National Trust of the Cayman
Islands from its beginning. It is important not only for saving the Blue Iguana but also because the endangered habitat in which the Blue Iguana lives must be protected and is about to become an important tourist attraction. The National Trust is in discussion with
the Cayman Islands Government in an effort to acquire vitally important additional land for the expansion of the area into which the iguanas can be reintroduced.”

Director of Environment, Gina Petrie, adds “Having been involved in this Programme from its beginning, it is very clear to me now that we are at a watershed – either the Blue Iguana and its extraordinary and unique habitat will be saved for future generations, or
we all lose in the long run. I am optimistic that public attitudes can be reflected in national policy, and that our proposals to secure an area in the East Interior for conservation, are wise, realistic, and strongly in the public interest.”

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Police Investigate Killed Iguanas
As the police investigation into the slaughter of seven Grand Cayman Blue Iguanas moves into its second week, the National Trust and the Blue Iguana Recovery Programme are taking stock of the situation and looking to the future. “A review of funds received and pledged over the last week are testament to an extraordinary outpouring of community support in the wake of the disaster” said BIRP Director Fred Burton. “This is still happening – we’re being notified of donations and suggestions to raise additional support, almost continuously.”

Cayman Crimestoppers has just released a reward poster, with donations towards the reward actually received by the National Trust standing at CI$ 7,210 by Monday afternoon, out of a total of over $16,000 pledged. DMS triggered the cascade of donations with a $5,000 pledge and extensive radio coverage. All donors to date have generously agreed that if the reward remains unclaimed, the funds will be directed to benefit other aspects of the Blue Iguana Recovery Programme.

Contributions and pledges have also been received specifically towards the cost of increasing security at the Blue Iguana captive facility. In particular, Walkers has pledged to underwrite costs of a security system, and Sagicor also made a donation for this purpose, early this week. Three independent security providers have reviewed the facility in the last week, and the preferred solution will be selected by the Trust and the BIRP later this week.

The Blue Iguana Recovery Programme has also received substantial unrestricted donations over the last week. With the cost of the security systems yet to be determined, and income from Blue Iguana tours inevitably disrupted by the crime, many donors preferred to allow the BIRP to direct their funds to wherever the need proved greatest. Greenlight Re granted the programme $20,000 over the weekend, while a team of over 50 community volunteers led by Sarah Agnolin and Kurt Christian raised an astonishing $12,903 in cash donations from the public, over three days stationed in Hurleys Grand Harbour and Fosters at the Strand.

In addition to purely financial support, both Government agencies and the private sector are contributing in other ways. The Departments of Agriculture and Environment are placing considerable resources in support of the RCIP investigation, and to help the surviving injured Blue Iguanas along with St. Matthew’s Veterinary School and Island Veterinary Services. Ocean Frontiers is providing free accommodation for International Reptile Conservation Foundation personnel who came to assist during the crisis. Several other local businesses, schools, and associations are adding their weight to the effort, either in fundraising or other suggestions for assistance.

Meanwhile, the first eggs of the year are being laid by the surviving captive Blue Iguana breeders, turning the programme staff’s thoughts toward a brighter future. Volunteers from the Ritz Carlton Ambassadors of the Environment have been helping BIRP Head Warden John Marotta, in excavating the nests.

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Surviving Injured Iguanas’ Condition “Cautiously Optimistic”
After the death on Tuesday of another Blue Iguana injured in the attack on the Captive Breeding Facility last weekend, the condition of “Billy” and “Archie” has been an urgent concern. Responding to the crisis, the Wildlife Conservation Society dispatched specialist veterinarian Dr. Stephanie James to attend to these two large breeding males.

Dr James arrived near midday yesterday, and thanks to extraordinary measures willingly taken by the Department of Agriculture and the Cayman Islands Veterinary Board, she was formally permitted to get to work the moment she arrived.

X-rays at Island Veterinary Services had already confirmed “Billy” had some problems, and Dr. James’ first examination of blood parameters confirmed that some of the types of injuries that had killed the other iguanas may also be present in these two. However Dr. James commented “the blood work isn’t nearly as disastrous as I’d feared”. The two iguanas were treated with a painkiller, antibiotic, and various other injections and infusions to counteract any developing infections and other possible consequences of internal injury. They are now being held in a natural enclosure under conditions designed to minimize all stress. They will be under close observation today, while Dr. James designs an ongoing treatment strategy.

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Six Blue Iguanas Murdered in Botanic Park
Six critically endangered Grand Cayman Blue Iguanas were killed by unknown persons late on Saturday evening, in the 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.

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.

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.

Dead on Sunday morning were the adult breeding males “Yellow” (sponsored by Caribbean Publishers), “Pedro” (sponsored by Websters Tours), “Digger” (sponsored by Simon Hicks), and “Eldemire” (christened by Kent Eldemire). The grand matriarch of the captive facility, “Sara”, was also dead. “Jessica” had been thrown out of the neighboring 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.

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.

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First successful breeding of released Blue Iguanas in the Salina Reserve, Grand Cayman
In December 2004, thirty-two Grand Cayman Blue Iguanas were released into the National Trust Salina Reserve, inland from the Queen’s Highway. The iguanas had been reared in captivity to 2 years old.

A year later, a further 73 two-year-olds were released in the same areas of the Salina Reserve. In the summers of both 2005 and 2006, these released iguanas were monitored by teams of local and international volunteers, and this year three females from the 2004 release were seen digging nests to lay their eggs.

On 8th September, one of those nest sites had developed a hole, indicating that the eggs inside may have hatched, and the hatchlings dug to the surface. The nest has now been carefully excavated, and three perfect, hatched egg shells were recovered from the nest
chamber a foot under the ground. The hatchlings have probably dispersed in search of safe retreats, and have not yet been sighted.

This landmark event is the first time successful reproduction of Blue Iguanas in the Salina Reserve has been seen, since the Blue Iguana Recovery Program began restoring a population there. The other two nests, which were laid later in the summer, are still being monitored.

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Dateline: July 16, 2002 ~ Grand Cayman

Contact Name: Fred Burton

July 16, 2002, Grand Cayman – Blue Iguanas living wild in the East End interior are very nearly extinct, according to a survey just completed by the National Trust’s Blue Iguana Conservation Project.

The wild Blue Iguana population was last surveyed in 1993. About 150 were estimated to be surviving at that time. In the nine years since, the area occupied by the iguanas has halved, and the overall population has crashed by about 90 percent. Today only between 10 and 25 remain alive in the wild. Changes in land use, road kills, and losses to rats, cats and dogs are the main causes of this catastrophic decline.

Although the wild population is plunging towards extinction, the Trust’s captive breeding program in the Botanic Park offers more hope. A managed population of about 30 captive-bred Blue Iguanas is now living free in the Park, where they have become a significant visitor attraction. These iguanas started breeding in 2000, and this year they laid six nests.

“It looks like the future for wild Blue Iguanas now lies in managed populations in protected areas” says volunteer project director, Fred Burton. “But the Botanic Park can only support about 60 or so. To take the Blue Iguana off the endangered species list, we need to be targeting more like 1,000 restored to the wild.”

International interest and support for saving the Blue Iguana has grown rapidly since last November, when a Species Recovery Plan was developed with the IUCN Iguana Specialist Group. This plan addresses the need for additional protected iguana habitat, and calls for the captive breeding and release programme to be scaled up considerably.

Ironically, the plight of the Blue Iguana may yet be its salvation, as this giant blue reptile is becoming an international conservation symbol.

The Species Recovery Plan for the Blue Iguana can be viewed on www.cyclura.com.

Blue Iguana Conservation Programme,
National Trust for the Cayman Islands

Contact Name: Fred Burton

July 16, 2002, Grand Cayman – The National Trust’s Blue Iguana Conservation Programme has just completed a new survey of wild Blue Iguanas, seeking to find out how many still survive. The last survey, carried out by the Trust in 1993, estimated that some 150 wild Blue Iguanas were living in the East interior of Grand Cayman.

Fossil evidence shows that Blue Iguanas once ranged throughout Grand Cayman, but by 1938 they were already mostly restricted to the Eastern districts, and had become extremely scarce. They are now rated as “critically endangered” in the international “Red Book” listings, native to the island of Grand Cayman, and nowhere else in the world.

The new survey began in December 2001, with most of the fieldwork taking place during the iguanas’ breeding season in May and June 2002. Visiting iguana specialists Quentin Bloxam, Joe Wasilewski, Alberto Jaramillo and Joel Friesch joined the programme’s volunteer director Fred Burton, in a total of 55 person-days covering 748 acres of iguana habitat, and an additional 12.4 miles of trails and transects through adjacent areas.

“In May, as we completed surveys of all the sites where iguanas were known in 1993, I began to get a really bad feeling about this” says Fred Burton. “Now we’ve completed the fieldwork and analyzed the results, and the conclusion is just shocking! The area occupied by wild iguanas has halved in the last 9 years, and even within the area which is still occupied, the iguanas are five times scarcer than they were. There are only between 10 and 25 Blue Iguanas still alive out there, and several of those are in hopeless situations where they stand no chance of breeding and could be killed any day.”

The main causes of this catastrophic decline are:
• gradual changes in land use, from traditional crop land to cattle pasture and residential land;
• road kills;
• injury to hatchlings by rats;
• loss of juveniles to feral and domestic cats; and
• loss of adults to the increasing number of dogs roaming free in the iguanas’ last habitats.

All these pressures are still weighing down on the last truly wild Blue Iguanas. Unless extraordinary measures can be taken very soon, they will be functionally extinct (unable to produce young which survive to breeding age) within the next five years at most – and probably sooner.

As the unmanaged wild population plunges towards extinction, the Trust’s long established captive breeding programme is fuelling a gradual increase in a managed population, released in the QE II Botanic Park. Between 20 and 34 captive-bred Blue Iguanas now live free in the Park, and this year they laid six nests. Meanwhile the captive breeding group continues to produce young. Thirty-one eggs are now under incubation, from both captive and free iguanas in the Park.

“In the long term, it’s clear that the future of the Blue Iguana as a wild animal, must now rest on managed populations in protected areas,” says Burton. “The programme’s success in the QE II Botanic Park shows this can be done, and done in a way that is very popular with both tourists and local visitors. But we will need to scale this up enormously: the Park can hold maybe 60 or so iguanas at most, but to take the Blue Iguana off the endangered species list, we should be aiming at restoring around 1,000 in the wild. There just isn’t enough suitable protected habitat available to do that right now.”

The Trust has been leading an effort to save the Grand Cayman Blue Iguana for the past 12 years. A groundswell of international support followed a meeting of the IUCN Iguana Specialist Group in Grand Cayman last November, and the results of this survey are an urgent call for the ambitious plans that were formulated in November to be realized as fast as possible. The Species Recovery Plan for the Grand Cayman Blue Iguana can be viewed on www.cyclura.com..

Ironically, the extreme plight of the Blue Iguana may yet be its salvation, as this giant blue reptile gradually becomes an international conservation symbol. With ongoing labour and deep commitment by all, saving the Blue Iguana may yet become a global success story for the Cayman Islands.

Blue Iguana Conservation Programme,
National Trust for the Cayman Islands

16th July, 2002