Iguanas: Victims of the new Route 66

For the last ten years or so we have been noticing here on the Island of Puerto Rico a proliferation of giant iguanas. They are also called "tree chickens" due to their ability to walk on tree branches that are near bodies of water. I remember some years back seeing a few people keeping them as pets and they carried them around on their shoulders tied to a leash. But these little creatures grew and got much bigger. They also seemed to get out of hand. They had a habit of attacking with their tails which they use as a whip to defend themselves when they felt they were being attacked. So I think their owners began to leave them loose and we have gotten to the point where they have multiplied enormously.

They pair off between November and December and lay between 17 to 68 eggs. They reach adult age in three years and they have the talent of engineers because they live in holes connected by tunnels. They are great swimmers and they dive from the branches of trees into the waters. They are vegetarians, but when they are young they eat birds, bird eggs, and rotten meat. Their principal enemies are pigs and mangoose. Our dog, a collie, has killed two or three that have come into our yard, but she doesn't eat them. She just kills them.

We meet up with them anywhere and everywhere. I know there are a lot of them where I live. The other day my sister-in-law went down to a nearby brook and she said that a great number of them were all over the area and in the brook. They really don't do any harm except that they defend themselves attacking with their long tail when someone tries to catch them or they are attached. A lot of people try to catch them, but they really are swift. Some of these creatures can measure up to six feet from head to the tip of the tail. But, they could harm crops because they are principally vegetarians.

Recently a new highway was opened (Route 66) making it possible to get from Carolina to Rio Grande in less than half the time it would usually take on the normal road, but charging a toll of $1.50 every time one uses it. Before Route 66 was built, all those areas were wetlands where the iguanas had settled. Like good hostesses they have been welcoming the drivers using the route now, but it's costing them their lives.

Since the inauguration of this highway last March 31st., the stories about the close encounters with the harmless reptiles, which have the aspect of miniature dinasaurs don't stop circulating. They just lay on the highway and the drivers are passing their cars over them. The poor creatures! Though some try to avoid hitting them when they get in their way. This could possibly cause an accident because there seems to be an invasion of them on Route 66. So far we have had no accidents due to this cause. But pieces of iguanas can be seen spread all over the highway.

Finally, stories have begun to circulate about their nutritious value. Some people say that including them in the daily diet is a good way to control their propagation. I heard that some are already eating them. Yuck! I just can't believe it!

Note: In the picture above an iguana is lying at the edge of a section of the right side of Route 66.