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208 IGUANA  •  VOLUME 14, NUMBER 3  •  SEPTEMBER 2007 IRCF ON THE MOVE

Pharmaceutical manufacturer Eli Lilly
and Company has awarded a $24,000
grant to Project Heloderma partners
Zootropic, IRCF, and Zoo Atlanta for
the preservation of the Guatemalan
Beaded Lizard, Heloderma horridum
charlesbogerti. The project will receive
$8,000 a year for the next three years.
Lilly has developed and marketed a med-
ication for the treatment of Type II dia-
betes under the trade name “Byetta.” The
drug is a synthetic version of the exendin
peptides found in Heloderma venom.

A $19,600 grant from the Disney
Wildlife Conservation Fund has also
been awarded to Project Heloderma,
specifically to cover the cost of the local
environmental education program. The
program reaches 6,000 school children
and 4,000 local farmers from 20 Mayan
Chorti and Ladino communities in the
Motagua Valley, home to the remnant
population of the Guatemalan Beaded
Lizard. The grant will help cover the cost
of personnel and equipment, as well as
providing environmental awareness T-
shirts, posters, and interactive magazines
for students from June 2007 through
July 2008.

Project Heloderma/Project Palearis
The late model Suzuki Samurai donated
by the IRCF to Project Heloderma/
Project Palearis has just received a custom

graphic treatment featuring the logos of
partners Zootropic, IRCF, and Zoo
Atlanta. The vehicle graphics comple-
ment the Project Heloderma/Project
Palearis environmental education pro-
gram theme, which is recognized by
thousands of local school children and
farmers. 

Wild Trees in the Cayman Islands
The IRCF recently published Wild Trees
in the Cayman Islands, 2nd ed. (see Book

Review, p. 194). The book will be dis-
tributed in the Cayman Islands; however,
limited quantities will be available
through the IRCF. The IRCF con-
tributed time and resources with the
intention of providing revenue for the
Blue Iguana Recovery Program.

IRCF ID Cams
The IRCF recently fabricated cases and
assembled ten customized battery-oper-
ated CCTV camera units to help the
Blue Iguana Recovery Program assess
survival and dispersal of Blue Iguanas
released into the Salina Reserve on Grand

I R C F  O N  T H E  M O V E

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IGUANA  •  VOLUME 14, NUMBER 3  •  SEPTEMBER 2007 209

Cayman. Based on a commercial indoor-
grade surveillance unit, the cameras have
been mounted in airtight dry cases with
an optical window for the lens. The cam-
eras will be placed in front of rock holes
where they will be used to determine if
the holes are in use as iguana retreats, and
to identify occupants by their bead-tag
combinations. Team Blue 2007 is cur-
rently laying out 20 x 40 m sampling
areas and counting active iguana retreats
in them; the cameras will substitute for
constant human monitoring. The results
will be used to estimate the population of
released Blues surviving and still occupy-
ing the protected release areas.

Volunteers Sought 
for Fieldwork on Little Cayman,

Cayman Islands
Sister Isles Rock Iguana (Cyclura nubila
caymanensis). Two or three Little Cayman
fieldworkers are required to work with the
project leader during October–November.
Primary tasks (in three phases) include
(instructions provided): (1) mapping nest
sites in various habitats, (2) conducting a
structured population assessment using
distance sampling methods, and (3) exca-
vating hatched nests to measure nest
fecundity in key habitats. Please visit
www.ircf.org/volunteer.html, and select
Sister Isles Rock Iguana.

Skills and challenges: Demands
extreme physical exertion in tropical heat
and humidity, off-trail in densely vege-
tated terrain. Expect thorny plants and
extremely hostile rock in some areas. A
high level of physical fitness and stamina
is essential. Color vision (to distinguish
red, orange, green, blue, yellow, and

white glass beads through binoculars) is
important. Aptitude for recording quan-
titative data (GPS, data entry forms,
etc.). Exposure to toxic plants may cause
allergic reactions. Scratches, cuts, and
bruises are to be expected!

Rewards: Learning and practicing
wildlife conservation research techniques;
exploring the Cayman Islands’ least pop-
ulated, most natural island, teeming with
wildlife; working with a healthy, abun-
dant wild iguana population.

What we expect: That you will be
available to carry out tough fieldwork
involving long hours on at least a three-
days-on, one-day-off schedule; that you
will carefully follow guidance and
instructions from the group leader while
on duty; and that you will commit to
collecting the most accurate and highest
quality information possible.

What we offer: Free shared accom-
modations (probably project-rented space
with bedding, etc. provided), local trans-
portation, and access to the specialized
equipment and information you need to
be effective and productive.

Team Blue Volunteers Sought 
for the Blue Iguana Facility

Year-round Team Blue volunteer oppor-
tunities are available at the Blue Iguana
breeding facility in the Queen Elizabeth
II Botanic Park on Grand Cayman.
Please visit www.ircf.org/volunteer.html
to learn more.

IRCF ON THE MOVE

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210 IGUANA  •  VOLUME 14, NUMBER 3  •  SEPTEMBER 2007

IRCF
CaribSea
Michael D. Kern
Susan Solomon
Joel Friesch
Jim Schauf (FAST)
Desiree Wong 
Marianne Lee
Ivan Schwab
Miki England
Virginia Huang
Atla Brewer
Ron Greenberg
Horned Lizard Conservation Society
Alex Jones
Richard and Victoria Burt
David Friant

Project  Heloderma
Disney Wildlife Conservation Fund
Eli Lilly
Zoological Society of San Diego 
Wildlife Discovery Center 
Oklahoma City Zoo
Jacksonville Zoo
VIN Foundation  
BowTie, Inc. (Reptiles Magazine)
Sandy Quinn
Erik Anderson  
Sterling Williamson 

Blue Iguana
Maine Community Foundation
Animal Behaviour Management Alliance
Robert Dorson Trust  
Greater Cleveland AAZK  
Len Goldberg
Happy Hollow Zoo
Deborah Slotpole
Nora Fahlber
Jean Dorson
Point Defiance Zoo
AE Nash/Johnathan Sculpin
Mary J. Hausherr
David O. Price 
Stephen  Urban 
Matthew Ackley
Claes Martenson
Milwaukee County Zoo
Valerie Lewallen
Pat Shipman
Molly McCoy
Tricia Jiang
Keiko Mizumoto

Gharia l  Mult i  Task Force
John Brueggen
Matthew Wightman

Andros  Iguana
Shedd Aquarium 
Scott Monroe

T
he IRCF expresses sincere gratitude and appreciation to the many individuals and organizations 
whose support and contributions help further the Foundation’s mission of preserving endangered 
reptiles and the natural habitats and ecosystems that support them.

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