First baby blues of season hatch from rescued eggs

(CNS): The first blue iguana hatchlings for this season emerged from eggs that the Blue Iguana Conservation (BIC) team had rescued from a nest that was at risk of being lost to flooding last week as Hurricane Beryl headed for the Cayman Islands. The blue iguanas in the captive breeding programme have begun laying eggs, but the first to hatch were the ones recovered from outside the facility, which had been laid by an iguana released about three years ago.

Those eggs had been placed in incubators with the others, which gave them a better chance of survival. Heavy rainfall and flooding can put nests in the wild at risk, leading to a lower survival rate.

BIC Assistant Manager Joseph Jamieson said in a press release that using incubators and monitoring the eggs and the hatchlings had been “a vital component of success” for the BIC programme. “The newborn hatchlings are cared for and monitored in the incubators for about a week before being placed at the Blue Iguana Conservation Nursery.”‘

In this case, the hatchlings are healthy and well, a positive sign of the programme’s success and the growth of the blue iguana population. Last year, BIC released about 100 blues into the wild, including in protected areas such as the Salina Reserve, Colliers Wilderness Reserve and the Queen Elizabeth II Botanic Park. Protected areas are vital for the preservation of natural habitat and food sources for the blue iguanas.

Nevertheless, the animals remain at risk, especially from invasive species such as feral cats and dogs, pressure from invasive species like the green iguanas, and traffic The loss of habitat through development also continues to threaten the recovery of this species, once on the very brink of extinction.

Just recently the vulnerability of these iconic creatures was brought into focus when it was revealed that a local developer had cleared land and constructed a road straight through their habitat between the two reserves.

The National Conservation Council was then sharply criticised for intervening to protect these critically endangered creatures by securing an emergency interim protection order for the land in question, temporarily halting any further development of the area. The NCC has also applied for a judicial review after the CPA gave after-the-fact planning permission for the land clearance and road construction without the proper consultation mandated by the National Conservation Act.

The programme to protect and preserve the iguanas is dependent on the support of the community, including financial contributions and volunteer time. However, there is quite a bit of cleanup at the BIC facility in the aftermath of Hurricane Beryl.

The community is invited to support the BIC wardens in their efforts to clean up the debris at the facility by making a donation.