The small and uninhabited islet of Prickly Pear East is not what you might describe as a romantic holiday destination, but for the Lesser Antillean iguana, it has proved to be just that.
Thanks to an ambitious program of cross-Caribbean matchmaking, a new population has been successfully established on the island, with numbers now rapidly increasing.
The Lesser Antillean iguana is a Critically-Endangered species which has disappeared from much of its range across the Eastern Caribbean. The regional population of these lizards is less than 20,000 adults and falling.
Amongst the greatest threats are invasive alien species, particularly the common green or striped-tailed iguana, an imposing lizard that grows up to two meters long, that breeds fast, and that outcompetes the Lesser Antillean iguana.
Researchers have also linked the alien iguanas to the spread of diseases that debilitate and kill the native reptiles. In 2016, with the invasive iguanas multiplying rapidly across the main island of Anguilla, conservationists from the Anguilla National Trust began translocating the last Lesser Antillean iguanas from the mainland—23 in total—to an alien-free islet, Prickly Pear East.
Realizing that such a small population could suffer from inbreeding, the conservation team reached out to the Forestry, Wildlife & Parks Division in Dominica to request some young Lesser Antillean iguanas from Dominica to boost the genetic diversity of the iguanas on Prickly Pear East. The Government of Dominica agreed, and permits were secured.
10 young iguanas from Dominica, chaperoned by their supporting crew of conservationists, boarded a small plane in early 2021 and jetted off to Anguilla to find a mate. The love-hopeful iguanas were released on Prickly Pear East to start their new life and help save their species.
Less than 5 years on, new survey data has revealed that the efforts are paying off, with more than 300 adults and adolescents counted on Prickly Pear East. The island now represents one of only five sites in the world where Lesser Antillean Iguanas are thriving, safe from invasive alien iguanas.
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“Thanks to the kind assistance from our friends in Dominica, as well as funding from the UK Government through Darwin Plus, the Lesser Antillean iguana is making a comeback in Anguilla,” said Jenny Daltry, Caribbean Alliance Director, Fauna & Flora and Re:wild. “Prickly Pear East has become a beacon of hope for these gorgeous lizards, and proves that when we give native wildlife the chance, they know what to do!”
With hopes of building on this success, a second reintroduction site for Lesser Antillean iguanas has been established by the Anguilla National Trust on mainland Anguilla with support from Fauna & Flora and Re:wild. Fountain National Park has been encircled by a pest-resistant fence to exclude harmful invasive species, including cats, dogs and common green iguanas. It is hoped that Lesser Antillean iguanas will be reintroduced to this sanctuary in 2026, with some of the founders to be translocated from Prickly Pear East.
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The engagement of local communities has been essential to the success of this project from the outset. When the Anguilla National Trust first started its iguana conservation work, Anguillan residents assisted by reporting iguana sightings, allowing the field team to target their search efforts. Local volunteers also helped to care for the iguanas while they were being held in captivity for genetic testing pre-release, and they supported with the translocations in 2016 and 2021, alongside additional volunteers from Dominica.
“This is a love story not just of iguanas trying to re-establish their population, but of Anguilla’s people working to restore a part of our natural heritage,” said Farah Mukhida, Executive Director at the Anguilla National Trust.
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