Blue Iguanas brutally killed in the Cayman Islands

I know this isn't about pets, but I also know our readers care about all animals, as well as about wildlife and conservation issues.



I write for PetHobbyist.com, which is the parent company of kingsnake.com, the oldest and largest reptile and amphibian website in the world. Last week, we were informed that six Blue Iguanas at the Blue Iguana Recovery Programme in the Cayman Islands had been brutally killed in their enclosures at the QE II Botanic Park on Grand Cayman.



The program has been working to restore the Caymans' natural population of Blue Iguanas, which had dropped so low that a survey in 1988 found only three of the animals on Grand Cayman. In 1993, a core group of five wild Blue Iguanas was established as a captive breeding program in the QE II Botanic Park. Those numbers had grown to thirty breeding adults, with eighty 2-year-old Blues being released into the park each year. Park populations had almost reached carrying capacity, and the Programme had been expanding its restoration to another area, the National Trust’s Salina Reserve. Then tragedy struck in the form of a violent attack on the Blues.



Volunteers arrived on the morning of Sunday, May 3, and discovered Blue Iguana males Yellow, Pedro, Digger, and Eldemire, as well as 23-year-old Sara, the matriarch of the program, all dead. Another female, Jessica, had been thrown from her pen and was in shock, but still moving. Both females had been about to lay eggs, a vital contribution to the restoration of the Blue Iguana population.



The volunteers and staff of the program were deeply attached to all the Blues, and the loss and its circumstances have been a brutal blow to them all:

The iguanas appeared to have massive internal injuries, as if they had been stamped on violently and repeatedly. Some were also cut and partially dismembered. Three were found dead inside their breeding pens, two had been carried out of their pens and left in the tour area outside. The body of the sixth is still missing, but entrails on the trail outside his pen are a grim sign of his fate.

Even worse, the losses have continued:

The effort to save Jessica's life went on into the night, but despite specialist advice by telephone from the Wildlife Conservation Society and Dr. Wakelin's resourceful and determined attempts to stabilize her, she passed away during the night.



The persons responsible may have broken into the Park after closing hours, and found a way into the fenced-in captive breeding facility. No motive is known for this act of extreme violence against these unique and much-loved symbols of Cayman's natural heritage. Anyone with relevant information is asked to contact the Royal Cayman Islands Police.

A seventh Blue Iguana, Matthias, died later, even after valiant attempts to save him. Two other Blues, Archie and Billy, appear to be recovering from their injuries:

Responding to the crisis, the Wildlife Conservation Society dispatched specialist veterinarian Dr. Stephanie James to attend to these two large breeding males.



Dr James arrived near midday yesterday, and thanks to extraordinary measures willingly taken by the Department of Agriculture and the Cayman Islands Veterinary Board, she was formally permitted to get to work the moment she arrived.



X-rays at Island Veterinary Services had already confirmed "Billy" had some problems, and Dr. James' first examination of blood parameters confirmed that some of the types of injuries that had killed the other iguanas may also be present in these two. However Dr. James commented "the blood work isn’t nearly as disastrous as I’d feared".



The two iguanas were treated with a painkiller, antibiotic, and various other injections and infusions to counteract any developing infections and other possible consequences of internal injury. They are now being held in a natural enclosure under conditions designed to minimize all stress. They will be under close observation today, while Dr. James designs an ongoing treatment strategy.

The reptile world has responded with horror and compassion. A donor fund to help memorialize the lost animals, to provide a reward for information on their killers, and to help the captive breeding program recover from its loss has been established, and donations so far total more than $48,000, as well as more than $7,000 for a reward.



kingsnake.com will be hosting a guest chat with John Binns of the International Reptile Conservation Foundation and Fred Burton of the Blue Iguana Recovery Programme on Saturday, May 17, 2008 at 7 pm Eastern TIme (4 PM Pacific Time) to discuss latest developments in the investigation, and how we can help BIRP recover from this tragedy and support conservation. The chat will be held here.



I know we all have demands on our checkbooks these days, but if you can find a few dollars to help support the BIRP's efforts to recover from this tragedy and to restore Blue Iguanas to the Grand Caymans, you can donate here; be sure to select "Blue Iguana Recovery Programme" when you make your donation.



We'll continue to cover this tragedy and its aftermath on the PetHobbyist.com blog.



Memorial photos of the first six Blue Iguanas, taken during their lives and quite beautiful, marked with their birth and death dates:

Comments

[rose-aka the Drew fan club]

Sad, made me cry. Such majestic beasties with beautiful skin color. Sad, so very sad.

[Lori]

This is one example of when I think an-eye-for-an-eye would be a proper punishment.

[The OTHER Pat]

THANK YOU!

[Gina Spadafori]

Sure. Such a sad and completely pointless tragedy.

[The OTHER Pat]

Christie, do you suppose you could switch the location of the memorial photos and the photo of the dead iguanas? It's terribly upsetting to have that photo come up when I come to PetConnection, and I'm not going to want to come here while that's the predominant picture on the page.



Thanks!

[mikken]

A crime of pure evil. I hope the killers are caught and paraded through the streets...

[Dutch]

That is just so sad. My condolences to their keepers. What a tragedy.

[Kim Campbell Thornton]

This is terrible. We've been to the Cayman Islands many times (going again in June), and the Botanic Park is lovely. So are the iguanas. I'm a huge fan of the lizard family, and one of our favorite memories is of seeing wild iguanas on Little Cayman. We will be sure to visit the park and make a donation toward the recovery of the captive breeding program.