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Records of feral green iguana, Iguana iguana, in Israel
... Furthermore, in some Asian countries, captive animals are often released as part of a Buddhist act believed to build spiritual merit (Agoramoorthy and Hsu 2005; Ng and Lim 2010). There have now been increasing reports of free-living Green Iguanas in additional locations in Asia, such as Singapore, Thailand, and Hong Kong (van den Burg et al. 2020b;Mo and Mo 2022), which occur at notably higher frequencies than the spasmodic or isolated incur- sions reported in countries like Israel (Shacham and Nemtzov 2008) and Australia (Roznik et al. 2011). ...
Biological control is the management of non-native species through the use of their natural enemies. The Green Iguana (Iguana iguana), a large lizard of the Neotropics, has established populations in extralimital countries. There has been an increasing recent pattern of reports of free-living Green Iguanas in Hong Kong, which was the trigger of this desktop assessment of native Hong Kong fauna that may prey upon escaped or released iguanas. A literature review found documented predators of Green Iguanas from 12 vertebrate orders. There were two mammalian orders (Carnivora, Primates), eight avian orders (Cuculiformes, Pelecaniformes, Accipitriformes, Cathartiformes, Falconiformes, Strigiformes, Piciformes, Passeriformes), and two reptilian orders (Squamata, Crocodylia), which are all presently represented in Hong Kong with the exception of the orders Cathartiformes and Crocodylia. Based on knowledge of other taxa documented to prey upon lizards represented in Hong Kong, we suggested additional prospective predators of Green Iguanas from one further mammalian order (Artiodactyla) and one further avian order (Ciconiiformes). Since avian species generally have a greater representation in settled areas, along with stray domestic dogs and cats, we expect these species to be the potential predators most likely to take iguanas when they are first released or escaped.
This datasheet on Iguana iguana covers Identity, Overview, Distribution, Dispersal, Hosts/Species Affected, Biology & Ecology, Natural Enemies, Impacts, Uses, Prevention/Control, Management, Further Information.
Green iguanas (Iguana iguana L.) have been introduced to many locations outside their native range due to both the pet trade and illegal in- troductions. This has led to the establishment of populations and subsequent spread outside the native range, with negative impacts documented in some places. The Pacific region is no exception, where green iguana populations have been reported historically in Hawai‘i and recently in Fiji and Ishigaki Island ( Japan). Experience with I. iguana in the Greater Caribbean Basin has taught us that, if the right conditions are present, these reptiles proliferate and expand their range rapidly. We as- sessed the potential impacts that I. iguana may have on Pacific islands, especially where populations have been reported, and evaluated the risk of a green iguana invasion on Pacific islands using the maximum entropy niche-modeling algo- rithm (MaxEnt). The model predicted high climatic suitability for these reptiles on many Pacific islands, including those where populations have already been reported. Management and eradication strategies may include (1) targeting males during the reproductive season, when they establish territories and are displaying in trees; (2) finding females during the nesting season, when they are active on the ground and in vegetation at nearby nesting areas; and (3) finding nests and destroying eggs, or constructing artificial nesting areas to lure females. Green iguanas may be captured by hand or by pole-noose, with dogs, or shot with a 0.22 rifle. Where green iguanas are kept as pets, education campaigns are critical to prevent escapes. If possession is illegal, amnesty may be offered to owners who hand them in. Without proper regulation and management, I. iguana is likely to continue spreading and invading other Pacific islands.
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