Caribbean rock iguanas Cyclura spp. are categorized as threatened on the IUCN Red List, with the endemic Jamaican rock iguana C. collei categorized as Critically Endangered, primarily because of the effects of habitat conversion and invasive alien species. This species was considered extinct by the 1940s but was rediscovered in 1990 in the Hellshire Hills, a tropical dry forest ecosystem in south-east Jamaica. This galvanized the local and international zoo and conservation community, resulting in a successful recovery programme.
Early surveys, conducted by the Jamaican Iguana Recovery Group, a consortium of local and international stakeholders, chaired by Jamaica's National Environment and Planning Agency, identified two communal nesting areas frequented by the relict population. Nest site monitoring in 1991–1992 found only six adult females nesting in these depressions. In 1993 a population viability analysis outlined subsequent interventions that continue today, including nest site protection, habitat and iguana monitoring, and control of invasive alien species. These activities focused on the nesting areas, expanding the iguana's core protected area to c. 2 km2. However, despite recovery efforts, depredation by invasive alien species continues, reducing natural recruitment to unsustainable numbers.
Concurrent with field activities in the Hellshire Hills is a head-start programme at the Hope Zoo in Kingston, Jamaica. Each year as the new cohort of wild iguanas hatch, a subset is transferred to the head-start facility, where they can grow to a size at which they are better able to defend themselves against invasive alien species before being returned to Hellshire.
After 30 years of effort and intensive head-start improvements in recent years, resulting in a reduced 4.5 years in captivity (7–15 years historically), the programme reintroduced the 500th individual in March 2021 and is on track to release the 1,000th individual to Hellshire by 2026. Future plans include reintroducing Jamaican rock iguanas on the Goat Islands, part of their historical range. The Goat Islands were recently saved from detrimental development and are now slated to become a sanctuary. Fundraising is underway for the first phase of the project, eradicating invasive alien species and restoring habitat.
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