The Green Iguana, an endangered animal!

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One of the most exotics herbivorous lizard from tropical countries. The mysterious eyes, pointy crest and spines along with the beautiful colors make the iguana have a prehistoric look, like a mini dinosaur.

The indigenous Taino Arawak from the caribbean, mostly from Antillas, called them iwana. Later the spaniards during colonization came up with the word iguana.

The Iguana is one of my favorites animals and since in Panama, the Green Iguana is an endangered species, I felt motivated to write a little bit about it, but most importantly I wanted to let you know about a nice spot in the Pacific where you can go visit and enjoy the beauty of nature.

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There are plenty of sizes and colors of this beautiful reptile.

If you have a male iguana, it can grow to over 5 feet long and weigh close to 9 pounds. Female iguanas won't grow as large. They top out at about 4.3 feet long and 2.6 to 5.7 pounds. Not all of them will reach that size.

The Iguana likes to eat leafs, flowers and fruits. The mating and copulation period happens only once a year in December, and they get to adult life after 2 or 3 years.

For centuries, indigenous groups in Central America believed that the warriors should only eat iguanas because it made them stronger. During the colonization from Spain, the indigenous used to offer them the meat of the Iguana as a symbol of peace. These antique cultural habits are no longer practiced, but eating iguana became a normal thing to do until recent years.

Hunting and killing iguanas became a worrisome situation for this animal. Humans who are the biggest predator on earth are the main reason why this amazing reptile is disappearing.

In Panama, in the countryside, locals call them "la gallina de palo" which means the chicken from the tree. The Iguana skin is very resistant and since it’s easy to hunt, locals use the skin to make belts for watches, wallets, etc.

Despite the fact that there was a law back in 1967 (Law # 23, Jan 30th) which prohibits the hunting completely for commercial use and declares a closure anual period from Dec 1st until May 1st, which is a nesting period, unfortunately the hunting continued.

It is important to bring up the hunting methods, for example: hunters use a herd of dogs, sometimes locals use stones to hit them so they fall from a high branch and hit the floor or the roots of the tree. Some others wait for spawning period so they can dig their nests to kill the adult Iguana and her babies.

This is how locals keep them alive for hours or even days without food before they kill them

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In Panama, there is an association for nature conservancy, ANCON, they have been working hard to preserve our biodiversity. According with their statistics, in Panama, from every 100 Iguana eggs, only 2 of them reach adult life. More people should worry about these numbers.

Life continues, and yes! The world is full of problems, even bigger ones than killing iguanas, although it would be very sad to declare another animal extinct in human history, in this case the Green Iguana. You, me, everyone can do something about it, even if it’s a small thing.

What can you do?

I am not going to ask you to go hunt the hunters. But if you ever plan to come to central America for vacation, Mexico, Colombia or the Caribbean, never accept iguana for food! And if you find a park or town that people protect iguanas, give yourself the opportunity to write about it and expose good causes on social media.

Where to visit in Panama?

Many more people are becoming aware of this situation. Actually, I’m very impressed about David City in the Chiriqui Province, where locals are more protective. Even the central park of the small city has iguanas living in the trees and they share the space with human visitors and locals during the day.

But there is a gorgeous place in the pacific you can’t miss: Iguana Island

This Island is located in the town of Pedasi, in the Los Santos province. It’s very easy to get there, once you get to Pedasi, you can ask any local boat driver to take you to Iguana Island National Park to spend the day. I have been there more than once, and everytime I go I enjoy the connection with nature, as well as nice beach time with a lot of iguanas of all sizes and colors.

See the map of Panama below:

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How to get there?

By public transportation:

• Take a bus from Panama City to Las Tablas (Los Santos province), 4 hours, $10
• Then bus from Las Tablas to Pedasí Town, 1 hour, $4

Picture taken in Iguana Island

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You can always ask for private transportation but that will cost a bit more. Or fly from Panama City straight to Pedasí with Air Panama but be patient, it’s the only internal flight company, their website is super slow and their service might frustrate you.

Interesting facts about Iguanas

Here are some interesting facts I learned while making this post:

• Iguanas are great swimmers and that they can spend more than 20 minutes underwater without breathing.
• They can change the color of their skin to be able to camouflage from their predators!
• They can regulate the temperature of their body.
• When they want to let you and everyone around them know that they are in control of the territory, they bobbe the head very funny.

Here is a video of an Iguana bobbing the head:

I hope you learned a little bit about this beautiful animal, and if you ever come to Panama, keep in mind the possibility to visit the spot I shared with you.

Thanks!

Sources:

• Caring for Your Green Iguana
• ANCON
• Isla Iguana Wildlife Refuge
• Iguana endangered animal

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