First ever Blue Iguana hatchlings born from animals reintroduced to the wild

The world’s rarest lizard has taken another step back from the brink of extinction after captive bred animals that had been released back into the wild bred successfully for the first time. 3 eggs laid by the critically endangered Grand Cayman Blue Iguana have successfully hatched, coming at a time when the remaining wild population is estimated to be down to just 5 animals.

Working with Durrell, the Jersey-based conservation trust founded by Gerald Durrell, the Blue Iguana Recovery Programme is fighting to save the species. It breeds the animals in captivity and releases some of the animals into the Salina nature reserve on Grand Cayman at 2-3 years old when they are large enough to be safe from snakes.

The captive breeding programme was started in 1990 and is now hatching more than 80 baby blues each year. In 2004 24 captive bred animals were released into the Salina nature reserve for the first time, followed by 80 in 2005 and 115 this year.

Matt Goetz, Deputy Head of Herpetology at Durrell, said: ‘The animals we released in 2004 are now coming into sexual maturity and this year we were delighted to discover three nest sites within the nature reserve.

‘We can now confirm that all three eggs in one of these nests have hatched, which marks a major step forward in securing the survival of these animals. Hopefully the eggs laid at other sites will be following suit soon.

‘This success is particularly welcome as a recent survey of Blue Iguanas outside the reserve’s release programme shows that wild populations are down to just five animals.’

Durrell is one of 6 permanent partners involved in the Blue Iguana Recovery Programme. The other partners are the National Trust for the Cayman Islands, Department of Environment – Cayman Islands, International Reptile Conservation Foundation, International Iguana Foundation and the IUCN Iguana Specialist Group.

Click here ror more information on Durrell, and its work with endangered species across the globe.