Department of Environment says Sister Islands rock iguanas, red footed boobies and other species are in danger of extinction because of wild cats
More than 50 young Sister Islands Rock Iguanas are spending their early years in cages in Little Cayman as the Department of Environment and local residents try to protect them from feral cats on the island.
The Department of Environment says the iguanas, and other native animals and birds on Little Cayman, are in danger of extinction because of the cats, which it says is an invasive species on the island.
Initially 67 of the critically endangered iguanas were placed in cages, but due to space constraints, that number has been reduced to 56.
It may seem an extreme solution, but it’s the only way currently to guarantee that the iguanas are not killed by the hundreds of feral cats on the island, said Tanja Laaser, an intern with the DoE who, along with colleague Jane Haakonsson, is running this ‘head start’ programme.
Plans for a cull of the cats in early 2018 were halted when a court granted non-profits Cayman Islands Humane Society and Feline Friends a temporary injunction, preventing the DoE and the Department of Agriculture from attempting to eradicate the island’s wild cat population. The government departments and the charities have been in negotiations to try to come to an arrangement, but no agreement has yet been reached.
Laaser said DoE surveys have shown that there are almost no iguanas aged between 1 and 3 years left on...
Read Full Story: https://www.caymancompass.com/2021/09/09/little-cayman-iguanas-caged-to-protect-them-from-feral-cats/
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