Controlling invasive species helps Little Cayman flourish
(CNS): After a steep decline in the population of the unique and endangered Sister Islands rock iguana, they and other indigenous species are thriving again on Little Cayman due to the work done by the Department of Environment to control invasive species. The island was once an untouched haven for native species and virgin habitat, but over the last twenty years, it has suffered a loss of biodiversity resulting from an explosion in the population of feral cats.
After just two years of control work, about 87% of the cats have been removed from the natural environment, and residents have already noticed a significant increase in the number of young rock iguanas. Other native wildlife, including curly-tailed lizards, birds, butterflies and the endemic Little Cayman anole, are also flourishing.
The DoE recorded the cats’ consistent impact on biodiversity with cameras placed in the wild. That and iguana remains showed clear evidence of cat predation, particularly on hatchling, young, and sub-adult iguanas. However, it took years and numerous court battles for the control work to get underway due to opposition to culling the cats and a campaign by local charities to spay and neuter the animals.
However, such ‘trap and release’ projects would not have addressed the problem, which was reaching a critical situation for the unique species on Cayman’s smallest and least populated island.
The DoE partnered with the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) and the National Trust for the Cayman Islands and was supported by funding from the UK Darwin Plus. The department also has a legal mandate to control feral cat populations living in the wild.
In conjunction with the removal of feral cats, the DoE embarked on a campaign to promote responsible pet ownership in the community and develop biosecurity protocols with local stakeholders to help secure the Sister Islands from invasive species arriving undetected in cargo.
As well as being a threat to native species, the wild cats are suffering. Over the last two years, the DoE has studied the health of feral cats removed from the environment, and found that they were starving and plagued with injuries and infections. Many had mature parasites and trash in their stomachs, and the females were found to have had excessive pregnancies.
The work began to yield results within the first year of the control programme, the DoE said. In 2023, the department invited a team of invasive species eradication experts from Australia to visit Little Cayman. Having conducted a preliminary study on the feasibility of eradicating feral cats entirely from the island, the Australian experts found that this was possible.
Little Cayman’s small land mass and relatively low human population make the proposition feasible. However, similar work on other islands indicates that a variety of methods are needed to ensure its success.
The Australian team has returned this month to perform tests using non-lethal traps and non-toxic bait to determine if they might impact native species. Over the next four weeks, a non-lethal, humane, soft-clamp leg-hold trap and a suspended, non-toxic bait lure will be tested in the environment. However, the DoE explained in a release that these will not be armed or enabled, so the leg traps will not close, and the baits will be non-toxic.
“Motion cameras will record any species which interact with the setups so its safety and efficacy can be determined before any decisions to move forward with the project are made,” the release said.
“These deactivated testing traps are solely for the purpose of studying how Little Cayman’s native species will react to them and will help determine if iguanas, birds or land crabs, for example, are attracted to the non-toxic test bait to help inform adjustments if needed and ultimately, whether the techniques can work safely in Little Cayman’s ecosystem, illuminating harm to non-target species.”
The testing traps, which will be clearly marked, pose no threat to humans or pets.
At a public meeting on Little Cayman hosted by the DoE Terrestrial Resources Unit (TRU), residents indicated support for the preservation of the island’s endemic species, especially the rock iguana. They also said that eradicating feral cats would be a massive step towards biodiversity conservation in Little Cayman.
However, eradication or even extensive control over wide areas is not on the agenda for Grand Cayman or Cayman Brac as these areas are much more densely populated and complex, the release said. But depending on how the tests go, a new conversation with the community about the possibility of eradicating all feral cats from the delicate island ecosystem of Little Cayman will emerge.
“It is only with community support across the islands that our unique biodiversity might be preserved and protected from the impacts of invasive predators,” the DoE said.
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Category: Land Habitat, Science & Nature
i feel sorry for the kitty-kats….they obviously heard about the iguana cull in grand cayman and then just tried their best to help.
Mrs Patti Bodden’s cat program Feline Friends and volunteers are awesome people and even have night cat patrol guys who work 24/7 !
Yet we make not mention of the tireless efforts of Mrs Patti Bodden and Feline friends and it’s many volunteers and her night cat patrol agents who trap and neuter and spay feed and find homes for stray and feral cats in this effort to aid in this endeavor to protect or save these species too ! Her cat program actually works and is with government support .
So. The feral cats never kill green iguanas. Is that true or not?
Green iguanas evolved in South American rain forests where there are many predators. They have therefore evolved with the instincts to evade cats and even humans much more expertly than our native iguanas. Our endemic Blues and Sister Islands iguanas did not evolve with these instincts because they were essentially the top land species. Hatchlings can sense a snake a mile away but don’t recognize humans or cats or dogs as an immediate threat. They’ll see a cat and wonder if it’s friend or foe before running away.
If only you could remove from the largest invasive from Little Cayman… Pathetic and hypocritical as usual.
I, for one, don’t understand what you mean to say. Could you rephrase?
I still see “cat ladies” feeding feral cats in Grand Cayman. I guess they think they’re being caring, but it is devastating to the bird population of the island, and a serious criminal offence too.
I live in a South Sound community and every night a non resident trespasses into our community to feed feral cats. Cats that we do not want around. How do we get rid of the cats and the crazy cat lady (who actually send her cuck to feed the cats).
Feeding the cats also increases the chicken problem as they come for their share.
birds- lizards-needle snakes-snake eating gorillas- winter.
problem solved.
I gave you a thumbs down purely because what you said didn’t make a lick of sense. Snake eating gorillas?? WTF
google can be your friend.
what happened the kitty-kats?
the Brac is in trouble too with these stray cats along with speeding drivers killing our iguanas as well -too many crazy cat ladies here having these huge colonies that don’t help
Cats whether or feral or owned have no place on sister islands. If this is not possible then we should admit homo sapiens and their properties supersede everything on sister islands.
Please seek help.
Feral politicians!
Can we now talk about the explosion in the rat population in Little as a result of taking out the cats? I’d personally prefer to see fewer iguanas that I would rats
They took the cats that killed the rats and now the rats are going bats! I kid you not! Little Cayman is rat infested now. Not fun. Needs to be sorted! You mess with nature, nature messes with you.
The owls were taking care of the rats, until you killed them all.
To be clear I didn’t kill anything. How is honesty a killer? If you don’t like facts go and live in Trumpland.
There is another ‘High Vis’ wearing invasive species that continues to kill iguanas. Any chance they can be removed as well?
Choot ’em Jacob!
Feral cats are a problem in a lot of the world. They carry numerous parasites & kill for the pleasure of it. They have long been a threat to bird species. Their poop contain toxoplasmosis gondii which affects the brain in humans and animals. Seals along the California coast have been made sick and died because the cats poop in the sand. Cats should not be allowed to roam free, if caught they should be euthanized, not catch and release. As far as I am concerned the humane society and the cat people can either take all the feral cats in their homes or shut up. I hate seeing these parasitic killers invade any space they choose. I
Very well put. It makes absolutely no sense to trap spay and release feral cats back into the wild. Our indigenous species have far more right to Little Cayman than feral cats. We are losing far too much of our Heritage by going full speed ahead like a bat out of hell in the name of progress without consideration for the future. It is all instant gratification, I want it now. Stop forgetting that our indigenous iguanas are important to our Cayman Island’s Heritage, the same does not apply to cats.
Invasive species you say? Those that are paving paradise? Realtors? Anyone with a leaf blower? Honda Fits?
start with the construction workers…they speeding and making roads dangerous over there for animals and people/residents…killing iguanas with their speeding etc
at long last the Cayman Islands have done the right thing. The feral cat problem is being solved. It is a victory of intelligent people over the humane society and the cat huggers. Now all Little Cayman needs to do is educate the dumb drivers that have been running over the iguanas that the cars did’t eat.
We need some car eating iguanas over here in Grand, and you can keep your iguana eating cars over there😂
The Humane Society should be forced to fund the breeding of boobies and rock iguanas. Their arrogance decimated the populations of both species – and they may now never recover.
F the feral cats.
I do believe that to be against the law but worth checking just to be sure.
Now can we please control the feral drivers running over the last of the crabs and adult iguanas, and cleaning out the fish all around the Islands last pristine habitat?
Yes! Absolutely needed. Was there with the family enjoying a swim at Point of Sand, and the amount of popped conch shells was absolutely ridiculous. When it comes to preserving and protecting the marine life it is practically lawless and a free for all. It is such a shame as I remember when Grand Cayman used to have droves of Crabs during the season,fireflies, June bugs, and our waters would be teaming with fish of all sizes. Now nothing……don’t let what happened here happen in Little Cayman. It is the last place we have that is still prisitine.
Little Cayman is being destroyed. You’ve got people who come there and fill up garbage cans with crabs. And at least one person who goes every day up on the shore past the lighthouse and pounds up thousands of hermit crabs for bait.
DOE staff and RCIPS drive around in their trucks but see nothing.
Decades of Govt inattention has resulted in a wild and lawless culture.