These scaly reptiles are making a home at the San Diego Zoo: See photos
- Eight critically endangered Fijian iguanas rescued from traffickers in Spain are now at the San Diego Zoo.
- Reptiles are particularly vulnerable to trafficking due to high demand in the illegal pet trade.
Eight critically endangered Fijian iguanas that were rescued from illegal traffickers in Spain are now in the care of the San Diego Zoo.
The iguanas were some of the over 600 reptiles seized by Spanish authorities in 2017, and have been looked after by the Foundation for Research in Ethology and Biodiversity near Madrid since then. Their move to San Diego will allow geneticists at the zoo to learn more about where they came from and how to safely return them to Fiji.
Wildlife trafficking has become one of the largest international criminal activities, with the black market for illegal wildlife products worth about $20 billion annually, according to the International Criminal Police Organization, or Interpol.
While the poaching of rhinoceros horns and shark fins are familiar examples, reptiles are especially vulnerable to trafficking because of their high demand in the illegal pet trade, said Brett Baldwin, curator of herpetology and ichthyology at the San Diego Zoo.
"Wildlife smuggling is a real problem that threatens Fiji’s endangered iguana populations that are already facing pressures from expanding human activities and invasive alien species," National Trust of Fiji Council Chairman Setoki Tuiteci said.
Why are the iguanas in San Diego?
The effort to bring the iguanas to San Diego was years in the making, the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance said in an April 24 news release. Once they arrived after a long flight from Spain, they headed to the zoo's vet hospital for health screenings and a quarantine.
The zoo has long worked with Fijian iguanas, with its conservation breeding program established in the 1990s. Since then, the zoo has produced over 100 iguana hatchlings and contributed to important research showing the genetic diversity of Fiji's iguanas.
Studying the eight iguanas will allow geneticists to determine whether they were poached directly from the wild or bred illegally, and which Fijian island they came from. The geneticists hope to learn if and how they can return to their native lands, and whether they can contribute to the United States' "assurance population," a group of endangered species kept in captivity and sometimes bred to make sure the species survives.
"It’s an honor to have them here now," Baldwin said.