UPDATES FROM B.I.R.P.
My contacts have told me that no arrests have been made. Sadly, it seems as though local authorizes are now sweeping it under the rug - shameful but not surprising!
However, the Blue Iguana Recovery Program goes from strength to strength with plenty of hatchlings arriving - including TWINS!
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John Marotta, Warden | August 11, 2008
81 newly hatched blue iguanas have made their way to our facility. This number doubles our "head-start" animal population plus three to 159. In the next week we will have A LOT of mouths to feed. The babies are born with some nutrients from the egg yolk to sustain them for a few weeks after they hatch, but that time will pass quickly. And we are still waiting on about 40 more eggs to hatch in the next two-three weeks. Team Blue (Summer Addition) was a huge help at the facility this past month, preparing for the new arrivals, and doing various, much needed maintenance on some cages and pens.
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Samantha Hicks | August 05, 2008
Maths is not one of my strong subjects however even I was pretty sure something was amiss this afternoon when I opened up the plastic box containing BBB’s eggs 6-8 and four iguanas popped out. At second glance it was possible to see that one of them was much, much smaller than the others and cute as a button. We have hatched twins!
This is our second pair of twins hatched in captivity. Our last two emerged memorably during Hurricane Ivan in 2004.
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John Marotta, Warden | July 20, 2008
With the year moving quickly from breeding and egg laying season to hatching season the captive breeding facility is prepared for the introduction of well over 100 new mouths to feed. Over the past two weeks we have assembled 96 head start cages and furnished them with local cliff rock and driftwood. They are sitting ready to accept their new occupants. These cages will take the overflow of new animals from the existing cages in the head start area. Also, we finally have the solar powered rain water retention system finished and with all the rain from Invest 94 falling on us the tanks should be well on their way to filling up. Recently we moved Blue Iguanas Harvey (formerly Crooked Tail) and The Roman (formerly Round-up) into two of the open air pens. This is the first time in a few years that either animal has been out of their large fully enclosed cages. With great curiosity and amazement, each animal was a little overwhelmed at the unobstructed open blue sky and natural vegetation that surrounded them. But being wild animals it took them little time to accept the new views and both are doing very well lazing around the pens and perching on the high rocks looking at their new neighbors. The B.I.R.P. has started the new tour schedule. Tours of the breeding facility and a guided walk around the park grounds is offered to the public Monday thru Saturday at 11:00am. The fee is CI$24 for adults. The tickets are available at the QEII Botanic Park’s main gate. It’s an informative, behind the scenes tour of our programme and it lets visitors witness what we are trying to accomplish. From gathering eggs all the way to the releasing of these animals into their natural habitat, guests can see how the programme operates and accompany the warden on a safari type walkabout of the botanic park.
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Fred Burton, Director | July 18, 2008
FIRST HATCH FOR 2008 --- after days of anticipation, the first egg of 2008 is hatching! It's one of Deborah's two viable eggs this year, sired by Billy. Although we are almost sure Billy and Deborah bred in 2006, this is the first 100% confirmed offspring by Billy, bringing him formally into the ranks of our Founders - the wild origin Blues whose genes are so vital to restoring a viable population in the wild once more.
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You can still help - donations are not only welcome but needed! Or why not visit the B.I.R.P. website to find out more about the volunteer program. Don't forget to visit the IRCF website who process donations for B.I.R.P. as well as many other international reptile conservation programs!
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