KINGSTON, Jamaica— The National Environment and Planning Agency (NEPA) aims to release 1,000 Jamaican Iguanas in Hellshire Hills by 2026 as the iguana population grows under efforts of the Jamaican Iguana Recovery Programme.

Speaking during NEPA’s World Wildlife Day Webinar on February 28, Coordinator, Watershed Information System, David Reid, shared some of the ongoing work under the programme to rehabilitate and increase the population of the endemic Jamaican Iguana species, which was once thought to be extinct.

World Wildlife Day was observed on Thursday (March 3) under the theme ‘Recovering Key Species for Ecosystem Restoration’.

The conservation efforts surrounding the Jamaican iguana are done through a two-pronged approach of in situ and ex situ conservation.

“The population has now made significant recovery since the intervention. We do in situ, which is the natural habitat management, where we do population monitoring, predator control, creation of viable nesting sites and the maintenance of those nesting sites.

“What we do on the ex situ side of it includes the Head Start Programme which adjusts for viability of the hatchlings. Then the captive population assurance colony is offshore,” Reid said.

“We work with zoos outside of Jamaica, that are a part of the programme, and have a set number of iguanas for safekeeping – in case there may be any disease that may wipe out our local population, we can restart that colony,” he added.

As the iguana population increases, NEPA is expanding its creation of artificial nesting sites for the species to reduce overcrowding and competition for nesting grounds. Their efforts include finding suitable soil types, soil depth, temperature range and canopy cover that will be preferred by the iguanas to carry out nesting.

Reid explained that once a nesting period is complete, a number of hatchlings are removed from their natural habitat, which is the Hellshire Hills, and taken into the Head Start Programme, housed at the Hope Zoo in St Andrew.

“We remove a particular number based on the capacity of the Head Start Programme, and currently we are doing up to 100 hatchlings. Their health and growth is documented, and once they reach a particular size for release, they are reintroduced to their natural habitat,” he pointed out.

“The first set was released in 1996 and we are up to 534 released to date. That is a very significant number. We are increasing the number released into the wild population and it is bearing fruit because we are getting a maintenance of hatchlings that are at the 300 mark or greater from the core nesting site that we have counted, and there are others that have nested outside of the nesting sites that we monitor,” continued Reid.

He shared that there are 50 to 55 female iguanas actively nesting in the monitored area that produce hatchlings in the range of 280 to 300 per nesting season. The population of iguanas outside of the area being monitored is undetermined because of the limestone terrain, but both male and female iguanas have been tagged with satellite tracking systems that provide insight about the range of their movements and their survival.

Reid also shared that the increase in the iguana population has also resulted in an increase in predators. These predators include the Indian mongoose, feral cats and dogs, wild pigs and the cane toad.

As such, NEPA has extended its predator control by moving outwards around the core nesting area of the iguanas to catch and remove the predators in the buffer zone before they get to the core site. These predators are caught in any of the approximately 350 box traps set up within the monitored area.

Along with a long-term evaluation of the buffer zone, NEPA also has in its plans the continued monitoring of the invasive Indian mongoose species and the reintroduction of iguanas to the Goat Islands, among others, to ensure the viability of the population.

“We are aiming to have 1,000 iguanas released in Hellshire by the year 2026. Those are some of our future targets that we are aiming towards, and at the rate at which we are going with the support of the public, the Government and our international partners, we will be able to reach our goal. The Jamaican Iguana Recovery Programme is being cheered and we are being lauded for our good performance. We are held in high esteem. This is a real success story,” Reid said.