Welcome To Iguana “Love Island”, A Conservation Success Story Saving Iguanas On The Brink Of Extinction

Where do lizards go to fall in love? For the Lesser Antillean iguana, “Love Island” can be found on Prickly Pear East, where scientists have embarked on an ambitious conservation project. These critically endangered reptiles were facing extinction on Anguilla not long ago, but following a matchmaking meet-cute that’s successfully established a new population, the future is looking a little brighter.

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Known to science as Iguana delicatissima (as in Latin for “most delicate”, not delicatessen, you hungry hungry humans), Lesser Antillean iguanas came under attack from alien species. Invasive iguanas like the common green and striped-tailed iguanas were tearing through their habitat, competing for resources and spreading disease.

The introductions also led to hybridization as unrelated iguanas reproduced. This can cause “genetic swamping” whereby hybrid genotypes replace a species’ unique parental genes, leading to their “genome extinction”. The hybrids may live on, but that distinct lineage could be lost forever.

So, how does one tackle a species mating its way to extinction? Lizard Love Island, of course.

The first step was to get the Antillean Lesser iguanas away from the invading aliens, so they were translocated from Anguilla to Prickly Pear East. That only amounted to 23 individuals, however. Not enough if you’re going to avoid the damaging effects of inbreeding.

So, the conservation heroes with the Anguilla National Trust and Re:wild got their matchmaking hats on. They reached out to the Forestry, Wildlife & Parks Division in Dominica to ask if they couldn’t send a few of their Lesser Antillean iguanas over to boost the genetic diversity of the Prickly Pear East Population.

Permits were secured and 10 hot and healthy iguanas jetted off from Dominica in search of love. They arrived in early 2021, and let’s just say it’s been a productive few years for this lizard Love Island.

There are now more than 300 adult and adolescent Lesser Antillean iguanas on Prickly Pear East, a 1,204 percent increase in less than five years. From an iguana-free zone to just one of five critical habitats where Less Antillean iguanas are thriving; Prickly Pear East has been transformed thanks to the hard work of conservationists.

“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, in a release emailed to IFLScience.

“Beyond being important seed dispersers, Lesser Antillean iguanas are an important part of Anguillan culture. With the planned re-introduction to Fountain National Park, we’re hoping to not only re-establish the iguana’s natural ecosystem function within a restored environment, but to also help people reconnect with nature, using the Lesser Antillean iguana as a flagship species and connection point.”

Don’t you just love love?