Today, the subject is the blue and green iguanas of the Cayman Islands. This story is courtesy of an articlein The Economist, quoted below.
The Cayman Islands, a British territory, does not tax companies. So Grand Cayman, its largest part, has more companies (106,000) than people (61,000). Its population of green iguanas greatly outnumbers both.
The green iguanas are an invasive species, introduced as pets and then multiplying in huge numbers, and causing big problems, not the least of which is the possible doom of the blue iguana (pictured above), a native animal which is increasingly endangered by the green iguana’s taking of its food supply. In addition, the green iguanas, which can be up to 5 feet long, poop on cars, eat crops and gardens, and consume the eggs of wild birds. As if that wasn’t enough, because they dwell in trees, they also sometimes short-circuit transformers, causing power outages.
Here's a photo of these 'tree chickens':
The green iguana is equipped with a spiked tale and nasty claws, while the native blue iguanas are smaller and cannot defend themselves well against predators such as cats. At one point, in 2004, the population of blue iguanas was down to near single digits. A breeding project has brought them back up to 1,000 and many have been released to a nature preserve. However the presence of the green iguana remains a threat.
So the Cayman Islands has initiated a culling project.
“…the cull, when it starts, will be open to all Caymanians over the age of 18, who will be required to register and go through a basic review of the rules regarding the process. Importantly, they will also learn the difference between blue iguanas, which are a protected endangered species, and the pesky greens.”
Read more about the culling project here and here.
In the green iguana’s home countries (Central and South America) the animal is called a ‘tree chicken’ and the meat is enjoyed there. So the Cayman Islands may be able to turn the threat into an opportunity, exporting the iguana meat to those countries and turning unwanted tree chickens into cash.
The video in this link is quite amazing. An exporter, Spinion, is talking about getting this accepted as a delicacy in the USA, and if that doesn’t work out, producing dog cookies from the green iguana meat.
If you’d like to learn more about preparing green iguana meat, this piece from National Geographic (which discusses the same problem, but in Puerto Rico) could whet your appetite…
To read more about eating 'tree chickens', read this recently-published Associated Press article, Eating the Chicken of the Trees.
In the case of removing these 'tree chickens', perhaps money does grow on trees!
Kathy CastleAuthor at https://www.projectcubicle.com/| FreelanceTx, United States
Very nice and interesting Richard. Thank you
Glenn ChundrlekProject Manager| BelcanLoveland, Oh, United States
Gives a different take on the phrase "it tastes like chicken." :)
Jay GoldbergManagement Consultant| SPA IncBethesda, Md, United States
Very interesting! This is much more about Cayman Island iguanas than I ever expected to know! I had no idea that you can actually eat iguanas. I also had no idea that people like to have iguanas as pets.
I collect stamps, and there is a Cayman Island stamp with an iguana, but the iguana isn't in color, and the stamp just says "iguana".
What I love about being a BA is seeing a problem and coming up with a solution. This is how entrepreneurs become millionaires. In this case, the product is abundant and free. I love the idea of dog treats and there are many countries that eat lizard meat so the culling could actually be over fairly quickly. The United States needs to do the same with all the invasive species in Florida and our Great Lakes.
Stephen RobinProject Analyst Trainee| Ministry of Works and TransportArima, Ari, Trinidad and Tobago
Interesting. I never knew the iguana was referred to as a tree chicken. While it is not an invasive species in the Caribbean, it is a common source of wild meat for several decades.
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