US EditionUninhabited Caribbean Islet Blossoms Into Love Nest for Critically Endangered Iguana
- On December 18, 2025, Prickly Pear East Cay was transformed into a thriving sanctuary for the critically endangered Lesser Antillean iguana, with scientists reporting sounds of iguanas plopping and scurrying as they multiply.
- Faced with invasive predators and hybridisation, scientists launched reintroduction efforts to protect the Lesser Antillean iguana with fewer than 20,000 individuals worldwide.
- Using long poles and nooses in 2015, scientists captured 13 iguanas, genetically tested, tagged, and released the first 10 onto Prickly Pear East, then released 3 more after quarantine, Mukhida said.
- The cay's population surged to 300, becoming a global refuge, as Jenny Daltry said, `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.`
- Historically found on about 10 islands, the iguana now survives mainly on Dominica, which holds the largest population but faces threats from green iguanas introduced after Hurricane Maria .
15 Articles
15 Articles
Conservation news
ecotopical.comTiny Caribbean island brings hope for critically endangered iguana
Over the past decade, Prickly Pear East, a small, privately owned island in the Caribbean, has become a beacon of hope for a critically endangered lizard. The islet, near the main island of Anguilla, a British territory, is one of just five locations where the lesser Antillean iguana (Iguana delicatissima) is breeding and thriving, protected […]
Associated Press News
Uninhabited Caribbean islet blossoms into love nest for critically endangered iguana
Silence used to prevail in the forest of a private Caribbean islet until environmentalists transformed it into a love nest for the critically endangered Lesser Antillean iguana.
Lesser Antillean Iguana Established On Prickly Pear East Island - Reptiles Magazine
Conservationists with the Anguilla National Trust, Re:wild and the Forestry, Wildlife & Parks Division in Dominica announced that a 2016 translocation effort of 23 Lesser Antillean Iguana has been successful, with the species breeding on the invasive species-free Prickly Pear East Island. In 2016, Anguilla National Trust conservationists began translocating the critically endangered Lesser Antillean iguana (Iguana delicatissima) from the mainlan…
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