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At Fairchild Tropical
Garden, iguanas feast on
the filet mignons and
caviars of the plant world
— rare and expensive plants
sometimes brought from
the other side of the world
— much to the frustration
of the horticulturists.
“They like the prettiest and
rarest flowers, so they’re
obviously creatures of some
discriminating taste,” said
Mike Maunder, Fairchild’s
director of horticulture.
Park groundskeepers have
tried many tactics to drive
off the lizards, including
spraying the plants with a
chemical deer repellent, 
but the reptiles, who at
Crandon happily gobble up
toxic Philodendron leaves,
were not deterred.

The lizards have only been
nibbling on Broward
County, with small
populations at Flamingo
Gardens, Snyder Park, 
The Bonnet House, and
Easterlin Park in Oakland
Park. “Right now we’re
OK,” said Ross Dovey,
director of Easterlin Park.
“But it’s a potential
problem I’m afraid will
only get worse.”

— Daphne Duret, 
Miami Herald, 

31 July 2003

Anegada Iguana
Population
Assessment 2003
The IUCN Iguana
Specialist Group (ISG)
conducted a population
assessment of Cyclura
pinguis (Stout Iguana) on
Anegada Island, British
Virgin Islands from 14–29
June (see also IGUANA
10(2), June 2003). The
International Iguana
Foundation (IIF),
Institute of Museum and
Library Services (IMLS),
and private contributions
by John Binns, Joe
Burgess, and George
Waters funded the survey.

Anegada is approximately
16 km long and 2–3.5 km

wide (about 39 km2).
Although not a large island,
it presented a significant
challenge to the small
team’s ability to properly
survey the island in a
limited amount of time.
The strategy was to focus
on the western half of the
island. Any remaining time
would be devoted to
surveying the area between
the central ponds and the
southern, developed coast
and some areas east of the
Settlement. Results of East

End surveys conducted by
Glenn Gerber, Binns, and
others in 2001 would
round out the data needed
to estimate the total
population size.

Formal results of the survey
will be presented at the
annual ISG meeting in the
Turks and Caicos Islands
this November. However,
the status of C. pinguis on
Anegada remains critical
and population numbers
appear to be in a continu-

ing decline. The core
iguana area, Bone and
Windlass bights, contained
bulldozed access cuts,
which have destroyed a
number of known iguana
burrows. Citron Bush, the
site of Michael Carey’s
research in 1968, in which
he described healthy
populations of C. pinguis,
consisted solely of heavily
disturbed habitat, with
most of the damage caused
by feral cattle and goats.
Neither iguanas nor signs
thereof were found.
Overall, iguana sightings
were few, especially
disappointing to those
team members who had
never seen Stout Iguanas
and who had traveled far
and worked hard for no
more than a fleeting glance
of a disappearing shadow.

Current plans call for a
limited release of head-
started C. pinguis, presently
held at the Anegada head-
starting facility, on Fallen
Jerusalem, a small island in
the British Virgin Islands. 
If successful, this would
provide a further hedge
against the extinction of
this species. As a part of
that relocation plan,
Gerber, Kelly Bradley, and
Lee Pagni conducted a
habitat survey on Fallen
Jerusalem after completing
the survey on Anegada.
They found no feral
mammals and the island
appears to be an ideal
location for release.

I G U A N A  N E W S B R I E F S
95IGUANASeptember 2003

One of the few photographs
of Cyclura pinguis taken
during the survey. Photograph
by Joe Burgess.

The 2003 survey team: (back row, left to right) George Waters (IIS),
Dr. Glenn Gerber (SDZ/CRES/ISG), and John Binns (IRCF/ISG/IIS);
(front row) Roberto Maria (ZooDom/ISG), Kelly Bradley (Dallas
Zoo/ISG), Tarren Wagener (Ft. Worth Zoo), and Joe Burgess (IIS).
Lee Pagni (SDZ/ISG/IIS; not shown) periodically assisted in the
survey, but his primary agenda was to interview local residents
regarding Stout Iguanas in order to develop public awareness and
school educational programs. Lee Vanterpool (National Parks Trust,
BVI/Head Head-starting Keeper) and Sallie Davis, a member of an
archeological team conducting research on the East End, also
assisted the team. Photograph by Tarren Wagener.

Each morning, the team members surveyed designated transect
areas, battling dense brush and cacti in 100° heat. The habitat
shown in this photograph is typical of what team members
encountered during the survey. Left: Joe Burgess, center: Sallie
Davis, right: Roberto Maria. Photograph by John Binns.


