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Captive breeding success for most endangered lizard on earth04/03/2007 00:00:00The Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust
 The first batch of 8 eggs for this year hatched in august and conservationists at the Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust say it looks likely to be a good year with further hatchings expected soon. The captive breeding programme on Grand Cayman was launched when there were only 10 - 20 Blue Iguanas surviving in the wild. The programme aims to breed enough young iguanas so that they can be released into the wild to boost the existing population, and also to establish new wild populations in protected areas. Some young iguanas are reared to adulthood in captivity, thus ensuring continuity in the breeding programme, and to create a pool of genetically managed animals which can be used to create a other captive populations in overseas sanctuaries. In the beginning captive breeding produced only 10 - 20 new iguanas each year, but by 2002, boosted by the some iguanas released from released Grand Cayman’s Queen Elizabeth II Botanic Park, around 30 young were successfully hatched. In 2003, with improvements in care, 84 baby Blues were hatched, and this year the target is to hatch and rear more than 100. Despite their fierce appearance and huge size, they grow to over five feet, Blue Iguanas are remarkably defenseless. Young iguanas spend at least 2 years in captivity to make sure they are large enough to be safe from snakes and cats. Durrell, based in Jersey, is one of six permanent partners involved in the Blue Iguana Recovery Programme (BIRP). The other partners are the National Trust for the Cayman Islands, Department of Environment – Cayman Islands, International Reptile Conservation Foundation, International Iguana Foundation and Iguana Specialist Group. Click here for more information about the Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust.
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