George Town – A rising population of green iguanas on Grand Cayman
has become so alarming that that the government has launched a pilot programme
to figure out how best to fight reptiles that began as escapees from the pet
trade.
Fred Burton is a manager at the Cayman Islands' environment department. He says 18 hunters are using air rifles, nooses and dogs to kill some two tons of invasive green iguanas a day.
But Burton said on Wednesday that the scope of the iguana invasion will require a long-term management plan to beat back the reptiles. Their numbers are believed to be doubling every 1½ years.
Adults can grow to be several feet (more than a metre) long. With their voracious appetite, the herbivores are taking a big toll on native plants.