The International Iguana Foundation (IIF), in collaboration with their partner Grupo Jaragua, announced today that they have reached an agreement to purchase another parcel of land that will protect important nesting habitat for the Critically Endangered Ricord’s Iguana in the Dominican Republic. The land – 6.3 hectares (15.5 acres) – is adjacent to Fondo La Tierra, one of the most important nesting concentrations of iguanas in the DR. La Tierra, comprising 22 hectares (54 acres), was acquired by the IIF and Grupo Jaragua in 2010, bringing the total property under management for iguana conservation to 29 hectares (69.5 acres). The new property provides an important buffer zone between an agricultural area and La Tierra, and with time the site can be restored to a more natural state by planting native vegetation. Both sites lie along the margins of the Jaragua National Park, close to Pedernales, one of only three known viable populations of Ricord’s Iguanas in the DR.

This year, over 110 Ricord’s Iguana nests were confirmed in La Tierra, and nests began hatching in mid-June. Both Ricord’s and Rhinoceros Iguanas nest in La Tierra, and the Rhinos are just finishing nesting now. The two species’ ranges overlap in some areas in the south, but their nesting and hatching times are different thereby largely avoiding competition between females for limited nesting sites and hatchlings for limited food and shelter resources.