Thanks to conservations projects, this species seems to have escaped extinction

Aug 17, 2012 09:29 GMT  ·  By

Not very long ago, it was discovered that the blue iguana population living in the regions of the Grand Cayman had been brought on the verge of extinction by accidents involving cars, cats or dogs.

As was to be expected, environmentalists took immediate measures and both conservation projects, and breeding programs were implemented in this part of the world.

The good news is that, according to recent reports, efforts have finally paid off, meaning that the species is finally making a comeback.

Thus, whereas just a decade ago, only a about a dozen blue iguanas were to be found living on these lands, recent headcounts indicate that their population has now reached about 700 individuals.

As Mr. Fred Burton from the Blue Iguana Recovery Program puts it, “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.”