Park and blues pair up to boost takings

| 07/12/2020 | 4 Comments
Photo by @BlueIguanaConservation

(CNS): The National Trust for the Cayman Islands and the Queen Elizabeth II Botanic Park are partnering up for a special December promotion to encourage residents to fill the hole in their income this year from the tourism closure due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Officials are hoping that locals will take advantage of a deal to visit the gardens and the blue iguanas for a single $10 entrance fee for both conservation attractions.

“The Queen Elizabeth II Botanic Park and National Trust for the Cayman Islands continue to share the same goals, the conservation of native species and the environment through awareness and education,” said John Lawrus, General Manager at the Botanic Park in a release about the special offer.

As well as the lush gardens and the native flora and fauna, guests will be able to enjoy an up close and personal experience with the blues on a self-guided tour at the facility, including excellent photo opportunities with Peter, the most famous blue iguana, and Opy, the largest at the facility, who weighs in at an impressive 8.5kg.

The captive facility of the National Trust’s Blue Iguana Conservation (BIC), formerly known as the Blue Iguana Recovery Programme, is located at the Botanic Park but is a separate organisation. BIC relies on income generated from guided tours to continue the vital conservation work and Operations Manager Luke Harding said the COVID-19 pandemic has had a devastating effect on its income.

“We hope that this new joint package will provide people the opportunity to visit BIC regularly and allow much needed funds to be generated to continue our conservation efforts of this endangered species,” he said.

Guided tours are available at both facilities and can be purchased inside the Park’s Visitor Centre.

For more information or to book a guided tour at the Botanic Park call 947-9462 or email info@botanic-park.ky

For guided tours with a more in depth look at the blue iguanas email tours@nationaltrust.org.ky


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Category: Land Habitat, Science & Nature

Comments (4)

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  1. Anonymous says:

    When is the kids area going to be finished at the gardens? That should be getting government money, not the terrible turtle farm.

  2. Anonymous says:

    I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, we need to run a breeding program between greens and blues to ensure the survival of the blue population.

    • Anonymous says:

      You are a special kind of stupid. Hybrids would mean the destruction of native blue populations. One of the main reasons we have a green iguana cull is because we desperately want to avoid hybridization.

  3. Anonymous says:

    Visited on Sunday and saw a couple of Blues. Amazing place, very highly recommended well worth it

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