The Blue Iguana is a magnificent and ancient creature, which is unique to Grand Cayman in the Cayman Islands.
Some iguanas measure as much as 5 feet in length and are fondly thought of as "blue dragons" because of their amazing blue colour and almost mystical appearance.
Sadly, until recently there were only a handful of these iguanas left making them the most endangered iguanas and one of the most endangered species in the world! Both animal and human predators had all but erased the species as ferral cats and dogs as well as hunting, trapping and road kills took their toll.The few young, vulnerable iguanas left were not surviving, which led wildlife conservationists to deem the Blue Iguana "functionally extinct"!
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Grand Cayman Blue Iguana
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Fortunately, the Blue Iguana Recovery Program (BIRP) at Queen Elizabeth II Botanic Park and its partners have been able to increase the population back into double figures through their hard work and determination. Fred Burton, the programme’s founder and director, hopes in time through national and global contributions to stabilise the population and return more Blue Iguanas to the wild in order that they can become a naturally sustainable community.
Mr Burton emphasises, "There are no insurmountable social, political or biological barriers to saving the Blue Iguana.We know what we need to do to save this species – we’ve tested the methods, and they work.It still needs a lot of dedicated effort, but otherwise saving the Grand Cayman Blue Iguana boils down to, quite simply, dollars and cents. We really appreciate Foreshore’s support."
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Fred Burton releases a Blue Iguana into the wild
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Foreshore has been providing business protection solutions in Cayman for the past five years, during which time we have come to greatly appreciate the warmth and friendliness of Cayman culture. We decided to give something back to the community by becoming involved in the Blue Iguana Recovery Programme and to put our money where our mouth is by donating US$1 per click on this page and a portion of our Cayman revenue.
At Foreshore our priority lies in protecting our customers’ information and systems. Our world-class datacenter is host to our clients’ private and extremely valuable data, and is completely safe and secure. We provide disaster recovery services which are used by many clients to encrypt and store critical data out outside Cayman. Our operations centre is open 365 days a year and provides 24/7 support because we understand the importance of protecting the things that matter.
You can read about our disaster recovery service by clicking here. You can also find out more about our secure Online Backup service and our email continuity, archiving and compliance and security solutions through Mimecast Offshore.
You can make a direct donation to The Blue Iguana Recovery Program by clicking here. Find out more information about the BIRP by visiting their fantastic website at http://www.blueiguana.ky/, designed and maintained by IRCF, one of their key supporters. The BIRP is a programme of the National Trust for the Cayman Islands, with local and international partners.
Durrell Wildlife in Jersey, Channel Islands, has been instrumental in the success of the programme through the training and expertise they have provided since the programme’s inception. To find out more about Durrell’s conservation work in Cayman and the Caribbean please click here.