SUVA, April 24 (Xinhua) -- Bio-Security Authority of Fiji (BAF) officers have been aware of the Giant Invasive Iguana in Natewa Bay in Fiji's Northern Division after the discovery of two of the species recently.
Chief executive Hillary Kumwenda said this was the first time a Giant Invasive Iguana had been sighted on Vanua Levu and was a threat to vegetation.
Fiji Broadcasting Corporation news website reported Monday that BAF had urged the public to report any sighting of the Giant Invasive Iguana and also reminded the public that the transportation or movement of the iguana itself or its eggs was against the law.
The website of Nature Fiji Mareqeti, a local wildlife conservation NGO, reported that native to South and Central Americas, the giant invasive iguana was believed to have been smuggled to Qamea Island, east of Taveuni in 2000.
To date, the estimated population on Taveuni has grown to an estimated population of at least 2,500 individuals.
In early 2010, visiting scientists Dr. Rob Fisher and Dr. Peter Harlow recorded breeding populations on Qamea Island while occasional adults have been captured or sighted on Laucala and Taveuni.
With no natural predators, its numbers are expected to exponentially spread to more islands in Fiji. Destructive impacts of this invasive species in Puerto Rico and Florida have caused millions of dollars in damages.
The website further reports that in Fiji the American iguana is potentially a serious pest of village gardens and farms.
They are generally herbivores and if the numbers are left unchecked, food sustainability in Fijian villages will be at great risk in the near future.
American iguanas cannot be poisoned or easily trapped. The only way to reliably eradicate them is to capture and kill each one and to target nesting areas to destroy the females and their eggs.
They nest in open areas with good sunlight and suitable soil which are limited and provide focus sites for eradication efforts.
