Stats
IUCN Status: Critically Endangered
Range: British Virgin Islands
Population: 200-300
Size: Males up to 22” in length from snout to vent, with a longer tail
Threats: Predation by feral domestic cats and dogs; Habitat degradation from free-ranging cattle, donkeys, and goats that trample nest sites and severely overgraze native vegetation; Land clearing.
Species information
- Although this species used to occupy islands across the entire Puerto Rico Bank, it has been restricted to the island of Anegada since dense human settlement in the Caribbean.
- Iguanas have been in serious decline since the 1960s, due to pressures from feral domestic animals and now occupies only a small portion of the island. Cats in particular kill nearly all hatchlings and juveniles, resulting in a population of predominantly aging adult iguanas.
- In 1997, conservation efforts to save the species increased with the construction of a headstart facility on Anegada. As a part of the headstart program, researchers conduct an extensive survey of the island for nest sites in July. The sites are marked and during the hatching months, research teams return to collect hatchlings as they emerge and transport them to the headstart facility.
- An annual Iguana Festival coinciding with the release of headstarted iguanas was created in October 2012 to serve as the program’s main outreach activity. The event is an island ecology celebration and learning experience centred on the Anegada Rock Iguana.
- A Species Recovery Plan was first developed in 2006, updated in 2010, and revised again in 2019. One of the recent actions planned for 2020 is to conduct a thorough population and genetic sampling survey of the unauthorized introduced island subpopulations.
Anegada Rock Iguana
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IIF Grants Received
2018 Grant $4,433
Conservation, Applied Research, and Recovery of the Anegada Iguana, Cyclura pinguis
Kelly Bradley
$4,433
2017 Grant $4,625
Conservation, Applied Research, and Recovery of the Anegada Iguana, Cyclura pinguis
Kelly Bradley
$4,625
2016 Grant $3,500
Conservation, Applied Research, and Recovery of the Anegada Iguana, Cyclura pinguis
Kelly Bradley
$3,500
2015 Grant $4,450
Conservation, Applied Research, and Recovery of the Anegada Iguana, Cyclura pinguis
Kelly Bradley
$4,450
2014 Grant $4,415
Conservation, Applied Research, and Recovery of the Anegada Iguana (Cyclura pinguis)
Kelly Bradley
$4,415
2013 Grant $9,000
Continuing the Headstart Program and Establishing a Unified Management Plan for all Cyclura pinguis Populations in the British Virgin Islands
Kelly Bradley and Glenn Gerber
$9,000
2012 Grant $8,000
Conservation, Applied Research, and Recovery of the Anegada Iguana, Cyclura pinguis
Kelly Bradley
$8,000
2011 Grant $13,910
Conservation, Applied Research, and Recovery of the Anegada Iguana, Cyclura pinguis
Kelly Bradley and Glenn Gerber
$13,910
The IIF has been providing funding support to the Anegada Iguana recovery effort since 2001. This grant will help to sustain the headstart program by continuing to collect information to further our knowledge of the distribution, abundance, and habitat use of the wild population on Anegada. A hatchling ecology study will be conducted to quantify mortality rates and causes.
2011b Grant $8,510
Increasing the Effectiveness and Output of Two Cyclura Headstart Programs Through Increased Oversight, (Cyclura collei and Cyclura pinguis)
Michael Fouraker and Kelly Bradley
$8,510
The IIF has provided funding for headstart programs for the Jamaican (C. collei) and the Anegada Iguana (C. pinguis) since 2003. Headstarting hatchling iguanas provides them with protected growth time until they are large enough to avoid predation whereby they have a higher rate of survival following release. Increased oversight will address some of the lingering issues that have reduced the effectiveness of these program historically. It is the goal of this grant to increase the number of animals available for release by 30-50% by shortening their time in captivity and improving their growth rates and survival.
2010 Grant $9,985
Sustaining the Anegada Iguana (Cyclura pinguis) Headstart Program in 2011
Kelly Bradley and Glenn Gerber
$9,985
The International Iguana Foundation has been providing grants and funding to save this species since the foundation was created. The IIF grant provided to the Anegada Iguana recovery effort this year will help to sustain the headstart program and support further genetic research.
2009 Grant $11,500
Maintaining the Anegada Iguana (Cyclura pinguis) Headstart Program in 2010
Kelly Bradley and Glenn Gerber
$11,500
Award of this year’s grant supports the continuation of the successful Anegada Iguana headstart and release program in 2010, currently in its 13th year.
2005 Grant $8,000
Conservation of the Anegada Iguana: Public Education, Headstart Optimization and Nest Protection
Kelly Bradley and Glenn Gerber
$8,000
This IIF grant supports field research and monitoring of the third consecutive annual release of 24 radiotagged headstarted iguanas, and provides funding to assemble a team to search for iguana nests in July 2006 to ensure a large number of hatchlings are brought into the headstart facility in October.
2004 Grant $11,250
Maintaining and Optimizing the Headstart Release Program for the Anegada Iguana, Cyclura pinguis
Glenn Gerber and Kelly Bradley
$11,250
2003 Grant $25,840
Conservation and Management of the Anegada Iguana
Glenn Gerber and Kelly Bradley
$25,840
This project entails a monitored release of 32 iguanas on Anegada and Fallen Jerusalem, iguana population surveys on Anegada, a habitat suitability survey of Fallen Jerusalem, and maintenance and enhancement of the headstart facility. This release will allow a comparison of survival in two cohorts of juveniles released in environments both with feral mammals (Anegada) and without (Fallen Jerusalem). This grant includes $15,000 held over from 2002.
2002 Grant $15,000
Anegada Iguana Recovery Program
$15,000
These IIF funds were earmarked to promote the recovery effort for the Critically Endangered Anegada Iguana. However, the specific details of how these funds will be allocated are still being determined.