Photo of the Month (August 2025 Edition): Iguana iguana

Between the end of June and the beginning of July, I had the great opportunity to participate in another international congress. Last year I was able to travel to New Zealand, and this time I headed to Mexico. More precisely, I spent a few days in the charming city of Oaxaca, host of the 61st annual meeting of the Association for Tropical Biology and Conservation, the same association that awarded me the prize for best biodiversity photo at its meeting three years ago.

After the conclusion of the scientific activities, I was able to visit two reptile conservation projects in the region: one dedicated to chelonians (terrapins and turtles) and another focused on lizards. The iguana reserve (iguanario) has been in existence for over twenty years and is sustained by the revenue from visitors—though those visits represent only a small fraction of the number received by the turtle project.

The iguana reserve is relatively small, but it has the capacity to house more than five thousand hatchling and juvenile iguanas in a nursery and enclosure, where they are protected from potential predators. The adults, which can exceed one and a half meters in length, live freely in the trees on the site.

The green iguanas, scientifically known as Iguana iguana, have a special protection status in Mexico. At present, they are not considered at risk of extinction, but habitat destruction and capture, including of eggs for human consumption, are reducing iguana populations throughout their range, from northern Mexico to southern Brazil.

Therefore, having a space where they can reproduce, find food, grow freely, and eventually move out into the few remaining green areas in the region is of utmost importance. These more than twenty years dedicated to reptiles have certainly contributed to the fact that the species is not currently at greater risk of extinction, and for this reason, such initiatives must be promoted and supported.