The green iguana is primarily a tree-dwelling reptile that eats the leaves of trees, flowers, shrubs and vegetation.

They are basically inactive for more than 90 per cent of the time, and when they do move, they travel slowly. However, they are capable of running fast and will dive into water to escape predators. This, scientists say, explains their preference for habitat close to water.

It is also one of the best-known reptiles due to its popularity in zoos and as pets.

Green iguanas have a very distinctive appearance — a large head, a pronounced dewlap, and an impressive crest of comb-like spines that runs down the centre of the back and tail, measuring around three centimetres high.

While, like its name suggests, this iguana is usually a shade of green (from dull, grassy green to vivid turquoise), bright orange individuals may occur in the northern parts of its range, and the colour may also vary with temperature, particularly when young, being bright green when hot and dull and dark when cold.

The green iguana’s scaly skin is either uniformly coloured, or bears blackish stripes or a contrasting brownish pattern. Prominent large, circular scales are present on the lower jaw below the clearly visible tympanum. Male green iguanas can be distinguished from females by the more pronounced spiny crest and larger head, the more noticeable femoral pores, and the broader cloaca opening

The green iguana is also listed on Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), meaning that any international trade should be carefully monitored to ensure it is compatible with the species’ survival

Green iguanas breed during the dry season, during which time a territorial male occupies his territory with several females. A month or two after mating, the females move to communal nesting sites where they lay a clutch of 17 to 76 eggs in burrows dug into the ground.

Iguana hatchlings emerge from the nest after three months of incubation, coinciding with the onset of the rainy season, a strategy to ensure plentiful, lush, green vegetation for the growing iguanas to feed on. Green iguana hatchlings are incredibly vulnerable to predators, including other reptiles, birds and mammals, and only about 2.6 per cent live to the age of one year. Sexual maturity is reached after two to three years.

Throughout Latin America, the green iguana is hunted for its beautiful, commercially-valuable skin, prized flesh, and eggs. It is one of the neotropical reptiles most frequently hunted for food, to feed the family or for sale, and is killed by rifles or captured by dogs. They are also captured live. Newly-hatched iguanas may be exported for the pet trade, while captured females may be cut open to extract the eggs and then released. These females subsequently die. This level of exploitation, in combination with deforestation, has decimated populations in some parts of its range.