Archives of The Cold Blooded News

The Newsletter of the Colorado Herpetological Society

Volume 29, Number 8;   August, 2002

Jamaican Iguanas at the Fort Worth Zoo

by Wayne Lee Gay
Fort Worth Star-Telegram

Hudson's affinity for reptiles began during his youth, when he spent his idle time in the hills near his home in Virginia collecting salamanders, turtles, frogs and snakes - and testing the patience of his snake-fearing mother. A boyhood hobby became his profession and passion. Hudson is a nationally recognized herpetologist (one who studies reptiles and amphibians) based at the Fort Worth Zoo, who has been working to save the Jamaican iguana, which has the dubious distinction of being designated the most endangered lizard on Earth.

Although Hudson is engaged in preserving life forms that humans have helped drive to near-extinction, there is still a boyish enthusiasm in his manner and a sparkle in his eyes when he talks about animal conservation. "Any time you take a component out of the ecosystem, you don't know what the consequences will be," he says, adding that the Jamaican iguanas were dispersers of seeds, and the rapidly disappearing Asian turtles - another of his projects - are already missed for their role as scavengers in areas where they have disappeared.

But, he adds, it's more than just a practical issue.

"It's a moral issue," he says. "We're in a rapid extinction process. These species are here for a reason, and man doesn't have the right to cause the extinction of another species. And we have the resources to stop these extinctions."

Hudson's obsession for the reptile is well known to his co-workers in Fort Worth and in the national zoological community. "You can't help catching his passion for the project," says Fort Worth Zoo Executive Director Gregg Hudson, who is not related to Rick. "'He's always preaching for the program."

Another colleague at the Fort Worth Zoo, conservation science manager Tarren Wagener, says: "His work is undoubtedly one of the most significant programs of die AZA [American Zoo and Aquarium Association]. He was there at the beginning of the project. We have the resources here in Fort Worth to be able to make a difference. There's a committee of us here who examine and question very closely where we spend our money."

Hudson - a graduate of Blue Ridge Community College and the University of Richmond - achieved his boyhood dream of working in a zoo when he came to Fort Worth as assistant reptile curator in 1980. He had previously had an internship at the Baltimore Zoo. With zoo support, he became involved in efforts to preserve certain crocodilians by breeding them in captivity.

But it wasn't until 1993 that Hudson developed his interest in iguanas, first working with an endangered species in the British Virgin Islands. He soon focused on the Jamaican iguana and the special problems of preserving a species on a large island with a vulnerable environment.

Unlike some endangered animals, Jamaican iguanas, which as adults measure about 4 feet from tip of tail to tip of nose, respond well to efforts at revival. "You can go in and save these iguanas with minimal resources," Hudson says. The near-extinction of the Jamaican iguana, one of 16 species and subspecies of iguanas in the West Indies, came about through the introduction of the Asian mongoose, a small carnivorous mammal brought to Jamaica to control cane rats in the 1870s.

This proved to be a huge mistake: The rats are nocturnal, the mongooses diurnal (active in the daytime), and they hardly ever met up with each other. And, as is often the case, the introduction of a foreign species gravely undermined the ecosystem. The mongoose turned out to be a severe problem for native wildlife in Jamaica, particularly for iguanas, which, during the first five years or so of their 35- to 40-year lifespan, are regarded by the mongoose as easy prey and a tasty meal. In the 1940s, the Jamaican iguana was declared extinct, and none were identified by a human being for several decades.

In 1990, however, a dog belonging to pig hunter Edwin Duffus chased an iguana into a hollow log. Duffus fortunately recognized the value of the animal, and reported his find to zoologists in Jamaica. According to Hudson, Duffus became "a pig hunter turned conservationist." Duffus now works to persuade the local charcoal burners, who destroy iguana habitat by burning timber to produce charcoal for sale as fuel, to stay out of an area set aside as an iguana preserve. "A successful conservation effort has to have a local population that cares," Hudson says. "We have motivated, caring people in Jamaica. "Hudson travels to Jamaica frequently for hands-on work in the program, often camping in the wooded Hellshire Hills south and west of Kingston.

Because young iguanas are most vulnerable to the mongoose, Hunter and his colleagues use what he calls a "headstart" program, nurturing iguanas that are taken from nests as hatchlings, then turned loose around the age of five. They are monitored with smartly designed radio transmitters on their backs, carried in specially made backpacks courtesy of Nike Corp. The wild iguanas that don't have backpacks apparently don't have any aversion to interacting with the fashionably outfitted, previously captive iguanas.

According to Hunter, iguanas raised in captivity are "hardwired" - that is, they take to life in the wild without special training, and mix readily with wild iguanas. In 1998, the program reached a watershed when a "head-start" female produced offspring in the wild.

In a more controlled environment, such as a smaller island, there might be a reasonable attempt to eradicate the predatory mongoose. On a larger island such as Jamaica, Hudson can't completely eliminate the mongoose, but can encourage control of mongooses, as well as the charcoal burners, within the designated wild area where the iguana is being re-established. And, on Great Goat Island off the southeast coast of Jamaica, Hudson and his colleagues have established an area free of the mongoose, thus enhancing the Jamaican iguana's chance for survival.