ant invasive iguana (GII), also known as American iguana, in Vanua Levu, Fiji’s second biggest island. Last week villagers living near Viani Village, on the south coast of Natewa Bay, caught a male GII, a reptile that could grow to two metres long.
Nearby resident Jay Browning said while the male GII was killed, it was unfortunate that a female was also spotted but it escaped into the forest. Biosecurity Authority of Fiji (BAF) had declared American iguanas as pests and they are working closely with villagers to find others believed to be in the forest. According to BAF the pests were brought illegally into the country some 10-plus years ago and released on Qamea Island.
They have since spread to neighbouring Laucala, Taveuni and Matagi islands and now to their nearest main island, Vanua Levu. American iguanas breed rapidly and a female can lay 50 to 80 eggs. As herbivores they pose immediate threats to food security, eating plants such as dalo leaves and cassava tops, bele, tomatoes, cabbage, beans and yam vines. The last sighting on Vanua Levu was in 2014, when Tawake villagers on the west coast of Natewa Bay, found and killed one on their shores. The scenic Natewa Bay is the biggest bay in the South Pacific.
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