COBRA Project Phase I: Amphibian and Reptile Conservation Center (ARCC) - Rock Iguana Breeding Facility

As a group, Caribbean rock iguanas are the most endangered lizards in the world. Much of their island habitat has been eliminated by human development or severely degraded by invasive species. Six of the nine species are ranked as critically endangered on the IUCN Red List, with a 50 percent chance of extinction within the next ten years in the absence of immediate and intensive conservation intervention. Two species, the Jamaican iguana and the Anegada iguana, have declined to fewer than 200 individuals remaining in the wild. A third species, the Grand Cayman blue iguana, is considered to be the most endangered lizard in the world, with an estimated remaining wild population of 25 adults.

Plans are currently underway to construct a conservation breeding facility at the Wild Animal Park where these and other priority species can be properly managed and an active research program on mate compatibility, incubation parameters, and factors affecting fertility and nesting success can be initiated. Off-exhibit propagation facilities will allow staff to produce offspring for reintroduction to the wild, providing an exceptionally strong link between the living collections of the Zoological Society of San Diego and its field conservation efforts. The proposed 2,000-square-foot (185-square-meter) facility, which will be jointly staffed by Applied Animal Ecology researchers at CRES and the Zoological Society's Herpetology Department, will house up to 20 individuals in spacious indoor/outdoor enclosures containing sandy substrate conducive to natural nesting behavior.

More

Teacher curriculum: Anegada Iguanas—Buddies or Siblings?
Reintroduced Iguanas Reproduce in the Wild, Marking Major Conservation Milestone for Rare Species