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76 IGUANA  •  VOLUME 11, NUMBER 1  •  MARCH 2004 BURGESS

Greetings, Friends! Our President normally handles this col-
umn, but he’s currently in the field. Since I was given this

opportunity (as Vice-President), I thought I would tell you a lit-
tle about myself and about how I became involved with (iguana)
conservation. Even as a youngster, I was interested in herpetol-
ogy, especially lizards, and I have run the gamut of keeping all
the various types of herps. As I got older, I started concentrating
on specific lizard families: geckos, chameleons, and iguanids,
with Anolis and true iguanas as favorites. I began traveling regu-
larly to the Caribbean and, to a lesser extent, Central and South
America in search of the 350+ species of anoles.

Although most hobbyists consider anoles to be a beginner’s
lizard or, even worse, snake food, they are usually not aware of
the specialization and evolution of this varied group. Anoles as
a group are the most intensely studied reptiles in the world, and
they have served as models for a number of ecological and evo-
lutionary studies.

In my travels in search of anoles, I inevitably encountered
some of the species of Cyclura, Iguana, and Ctenosaura. My first
encounter, and one of the most memorable, was on the Naval
Base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. I was walking along the edge
of a scrub thicket looking (of course) for anoles and Curlytail
Lizards (Leiocephalus). At the time, I was a young man (19–20)
and wasn’t fully aware of the status or abundance of Cuban
Iguanas on the base. I knew that they were protected and rare,
so I didn’t expect to see any in the limited time available to me.
However, as I made my way along the path, out of the corner of
my eye, I noticed movement, large movement. I turned to see a
huge male Cyclura nubila three meters away bobbing his head at
me. My emotions were a mix of excitement, veneration, amaze-
ment, and surprisingly, for just a moment, FEAR, as I observed
this remarkable creature, who seemed larger than life. The expe-
rience was profoundly affecting. Needless to say, I was hooked.

Fifteen years later, seeing an iguana in its natural habitat still
evokes the same emotions (except fear). After that encounter, I
felt I needed to learn more about these magnificent lizards, and
to find out what I personally could do to help reverse the rapid
decline in their numbers. Since then, I have met many wonder-
ful people dedicated to iguanas, and have been privileged to par-
ticipate in several conservation projects, most recently a popula-
tion survey of Cyclura pinguis on Anegada. This spring, I will
assist in the Turks & Caicos Islands with C. carinata transloca-
tion and research. I hope that, in some small way, my work will
help assure that these beautiful creatures will continue to inspire
awe and reverence for many years to come.

Joe Burgess

L E T T E R  F R O M  T H E  V I C E - P R E S I D E N T

Joe Burgess with an Anolis luteogularis. Photograph by Dorothy Burgess.

The IIS contingent in Seattle: Izzy, John Binns, Joe Wasilewski, and
Joe Burgess (left to right).

Surveys on Anegada were hot work: Joe Burgess (left), Sallie Davie
(center), and Roberto Maria (right) take a short break. Photograph by
John Binns.