Reporter takes away success story of local ‘blues’
(CNS): A British journalist who was in the Cayman Islands last month reporting on the premier’s proposal to introduce direct taxation also found time to write about the endangered blue iguana in an article which is beginning to be picked up by the international press. David McFadden, whose story about the expat tax went viral on the worldwide web, also wrote a feature piece on the National Trust’s Blues programme highlighting the work being done to preserve the country’s much loved unique reptile and the unimagined successes of its captive breeding programme. McFadden reports that there are now around 700 blues roaming free in the protected areas in East End.
"The kind of results that we've gotten show that it's practical and realistic to say you can restore a population of iguanas from practically nothing, just so long as you can capture the genetic variety from the beginning," Fred Burton, the director of the Blue Iguana Recovery Programme, tells the Associated Press journalist. When Burton began the breeding programme it was believed there were no more than a dozen blue iguanas alive in the wild.
In the feature piece Burton explains how in 2001 the first blue iguanas were released into the wild with an incredible survival rate. "When we started, we didn't know anything, so for years we just let the iguanas loose and we'd never see half of them again,” he said. “A year after we came up with this very low-tech method of anchoring iguanas to the park, we found all of them were still living."
Arthur C. Echternacht, a professor of ecology and evolutionary biology at the University of Tennessee, told McFadden that the Grand Cayman programme has succeeded bybuilding unusually strong relationships with international scientists as well as support from local politicians and citizens, and because of the tenacity of Burton.
"Although Fred can seem to be a rather low-key, unexcitable Brit, he is passionate about the iguanas, very persuasive, and incredibly persistent," Echternacht said.
John Binns, of the International Reptile Conservation Foundation in Tucson, Arizona, said the basic infrastructure and steady focus of the Blue Iguana Breeding Program was a model on how to correctly restore a species.
Burton said he still hoped to have 1,000 blue iguanas living in the wild by as early as 2015.
"Once we hit 1,000 and we have a good genetic range out there we can just let the iguanas handle things themselves out in the wild without us messing around with all this complex genetic planning," Burton said as he pointed out that the breeding pens at the Botanic Park would eventually be redundant.
“That will be a very exciting day," Burton said.
Category: Science and Nature
Finally, a positive and heart warming story. A nice break given all of the recent nastyness in the news. Congrats to Mr. Burton and those lovely creatures.
I find it interesting that in this story there is no mention of the National Trust. Kudoes to Fred Burton, but without the continued support of the National Trust the blue iguana program would never have happened.
The Trust, when Fred was science officer there in the '90s, started the program and has continued to support it until this very day. It should be recognised. Many individuals have played their vital role in the recovery of the blues – without them it would not have happened.
Now if only our Dept of Environment would follow up by organizing an outright culling of the green'uns so we can someday have the blue'uns roaming all over the the island.
CNS: The responsibility for developing a plan to cull the green iguanas lies with the Department of Agriculture.
Just capture them and neuter them. Stop them from breeding. Put out a advertisment that whoever captures a small iguana gets 1 dollar, whoever captures a large iguana gets 2 dollars, and whoever captures a pregnant iguana get 4 dollars. So if you capture 10 large iguanas, you get 20 dollars. Such an incentive for school leavers should be fun. They can do the same thing for the lionfish. Unfortunately, I haven't heard anyone come up with the idea. The captured large iguanas can then be frozen and sold. Hondurans I know catch them and eat them.
Wish we had more positive international press. This is one of several great success stories taking place here. Still we are known primarily as a "tax haven and money laundering service provider". Thanks Mr. McFadden and thanks to Mr Burton for giving him a good story to write about!
Being at the centre of a web helping the rich avoid taxes at the expense of the poor does tend to mean a large amount of negative press.
I know someone who should be in next year's honours list…..! Wel done Fred I had no idea of how successful your work had been.
8.53 Fred has already been honoured with an MBE.
That will be great to see them out in the wild. You will just then need to teach the murders of the green iguanas the difference.
These are the stories that make me proud to be a Caymanian. Why are not some of the nation building funds going to help the blue iguana and one of the islands most beautiful places, the Botanic Park?
Brilliant work, Mr Burton. Keep going despite obstacles put in your path by insensitive politicians and others.
See what can be done when the premier does not interfere in things? Great things occur!
No financial gain to get from the Iguanas. The investors are seeking land deals and not creatures on the land.
I guess the iguanas can not be used as potential votes!
nope… tried taking their case to the courts QC