The day of the green iguana

Spotted this beautiful green iguana earlier today in a coconut tree near my apartment.

Paya Bay Resort, Roatan, Bay Islands of Honduras.

seagrape wildlife

The other day I was noticing the wildlife in the seagrape tree outside my apartment. These photos show white-winged doves (Zenaida asiatica) and the green iguana (Iguana iguana). Since the animals on the property are largely protected from hunters and poachers, the resort acts as a wildlife refuge. Whether you are aware of it or not, wherever you got at Paya Bay there are always cute, friendly, curious, tropical animals watching you.

Paya Bay Resort, Roatan, Bay Islands of Honduras.

black iguanas on the rocks

Paya Bay Resort, Roatan, Bay Islands of Honduras.

glimpses of paya

Photography: John Shore. Paya Bay Resort, Roatan, Bay Islands of Honduras.

spot the iguana

Paya Bay Resort, Roatan, Bay Islands of Honduras.

green iguanas

This week I spotted several green iguanas (Iguana iguana) in trees around the property. In addition to the endangered Black Iguanas, the resort is also a refuge for this more plentiful species of the iguana family. The one in the first photo is a juvenile, likely indicating the iguanas are now reproducing here on our grounds. The female in the last photo seems plumb full of eggs.

Paya Bay Resort, Roatan, Bay Islands of Honduras.

green iguana

This afternoon Lisa spotted this large male green iguana in a sea almond tree. It's wonderful that these beautiful animals have a refuge at Paya Bay where they mature undisturbed to reproductive age.

Paya Bay Resort, Roatan, Bay Islands of Honduras.

ignoble iguana

Iguana

Ignoble iguana. Just resign
Yourself to rooting; rotting fruit;
Looting scraps from lots humans pollute.

Ignitable iguana. Your malign
Eye’s oily black. Ready to flare…
Daren’t torch your touchpaper.

Ignorant iguana, whose ingenious design,
Like your slow blood, is frozen, stuck in time,
As guano sticks fast to your igneous plinth.
Your forebears forgotten, holocausted by a meteor.

- Matthew Shepard (he and his partner, Joanne, are currently enjoying their third visit to Paya Bay! They come to Roatan all the way from the United Kingdom).

peaceful, ancient eyes

This awesome, National Geographic-quality photo of a Roatan Spiny Tailed Iguana (Ctenosaura oedirhina) was taken by special guests Kay and Dennis of San Antonio, TX. This threatened species is endemic to Roatan. Paya Bay's property is a refuge for these one-of-a-kind, primeval animals.

Like looking into the eye of Tyrannosaurus rex.

iguana iguana

A green iguana (Iguana iguana) demonstrates its near perfect camouflage as it rests on a branch of a sea grape tree (Coccoloba uvifera). Paya Bay Resort, Roatan, Bay Islands of Honduras.

grand cayman blue iguana back from the brink

We expect to reach our goal of 1,000 iguanas in managed protected areas in the wild in a few years. After that, we will monitor the iguanas to make sure they are reproducing in the numbers needed to maintain the wild population. If we get positive results, we will have succeeded.

- Fred Burton, Director of the Grand Cayman Blue Iguana Recovery Program

Photo and source: Great News Network

Yay! I love GNN!

doing research

Stesha Pasachnik and her assistant carefully capture spiny-tailed iguanas on the Paya Trail to tag them. Ms. Pasachnik is doing research on this critically endangered species of iguanas that is unique to Roatan. Stesha has identified Paya as one of the places on the island with a relatively large population of spiny-taileds. Paya Bay Resort is collaborating with her research.

 An adult spiny-tailed iguana (Ctenosaura oedirhina). Note how their coloration may have evolved to perfectly blend with the gray and flint rocks of Roatan's rocky shores.

roatan's spiny-tailed iguana

A juvenile Spiny-Tailed Iguana (Ctenosaura oedirhina) warms ups on a rock on Paya Bay property. Stesha Pasachnik with the University of Tennessee-Knoxville is currently in Roatan studying this endangered species; creating awareness about how special it is; and finding ways to protect it. Paya Bay Resort is cooperating with Ms. Pasachnik efforts. Our large property with its massive sections of rocky terrain is a natural refuge for these unique creatures. We want to understand everything we could possibly do to help protect it.

One of Ms. Pasachnik first steps is putting out posters like the one above to help create awareness.

I had previously written about these critically endangered animals here, here, and here.

2,000 iguanas

That's how many iguanas call Roatan's Iguana Farm home. "Farm" is actually a misnomer as the iguanas are not harvested in any way. The farm serves as a refuge for these interesting reptiles, which over multiple generations in this protected location have become completely fearless of humans. The abundant food supply results in huge iguanas, with some measuring as much as five feet from tip to tip.

A unique and memorable experience. I recommend it for visitors to our island.

tame lizard

A juvenile spiny-tailed rock iguana (Ctenosaura oedirhina) warms in the sun on the ramp to Paya Bay's restaurant. This one is regrowing its tail, which is usually twice the length of its body. As I walked by, it observed me intently, but didn't move an inch. This critically endangered species finds refuge here at Paya Bay. The International Iguana Foundation has initiated a program to protect these animals from extinction. More info here.

the christmas of the green iguana

I was just out on the property checking the progress on a project the guys were working on this week and spotted this fella. It's a green iguana (iguana iguana). It always makes me happy to see the endangered animals that find refuge here at Paya Bay. I'm considering this a little present from the Universe and a good omen for a prosperous new year.

crouching lizard

An adult spiny-tailed iguana (Ctenosaura oedirhina) crouches on a branch in the Tropical Garden Reserve trying to be as inconspicuous as possible. I've noticed dozens of baby and juvenile spiny-tails the last few weeks. I'm guessing the eggs laid earlier in the summer hatched recently. See the Wikipedia page on this threatened species. At Paya Bay you'll see no cages with animals or birds that were brought in from elsewhere. If you practice awareness, however, you'll notice that the property is teeming with wildlife. Its own unique, interesting wildlife.

spiny-tailed iguana

A spiny-tailed iguana (Ctenosaura oedirhina) seen on the Paya Trail. This endangered rock dwelling species finds refuge at Paya Bay. The male pictured measures about 18 inches including its tail. Note the raccoon-like black patch around its eyes.

spot the iguana

I surprised myself by spotting this one today (they have the camouflage thing down). At Paya Bay we have two species of iguanas: the green iguana (Iguana iguana) and the spiny-tailed rock iguana (Ctenosaura oedirhina). Our twenty-two acres of property are a refuge for these endangered big lizards.