The Anegada rock iguana is one of the most special species that calls Iguanaland home! These beautiful iguanas are from Anegada Island, part of the British Virgin Islands in the Caribbean. Currently listed as “Critically Endangered” by the IUCN, there only about 300 individuals left in the wild. Their population faces many threats including habitat loss and predation by introduced domestic cats - who hunt the juvenile iguanas.

There is good news though! A head-starting program on Anegada is helping to increase the current population. Newly hatched iguanas are collected and cared for until they reach a certain size, then released back into the wild. This gives them a much better chance of making it to adulthood and having babies of their own!

In the United States, there are currently only 11 Anegada rock iguanas. Iguanland is proud to be home to 6 of them. Almost 40 years ago, 6 juvenile Anegada rock iguanas were confiscated as they were being illegally smuggled into the USA, and they became the founding members of the current US population. We are working with the Fort Worth Zoo, in Fort Worth, Texas, who have loaned us these beautiful animals, to build a breeding program for this species and hopefully be able to re-introduce some of the potential offspring into the wild to aid with their conservation.