International
Shedd Aquarium welcomes two Exuma Island rock iguanas
By The Bahamas Weekly News Team
Aug 14, 2015 - 3:51:23 PM

Shedd Aquarium photo

Shedd Aquarium,  an indoor public aquarium in Chicago, Illinois in the United States has recently received two rock iguanas from the government of the Bahamas. Their Facebook page states: 

"We're proud to welcome two Exuma Island rock iguanas into our care! Among the most critically endangered lizards in the world – only 2,000 remain in the wild – the Exuma Island iguana is at extreme risk of extinction due to limited range and population sizes along with illegal hunting, smuggling for the pet trade and the effects of intense tourism pressure and associated food provisioning.

Since 1994, Dr. Charles Knapp, Vice President of Conservation Research and Louis Family Conservation Chair for the Daniel P. Haerther Center for Conservation and Research for Shedd, has led in-country applied research, working in close partnership with the Bahamian government and Bahamian National Trust to conduct research that has helped inform regulatory mechanisms, local community capacity trainings and outreach, and citizen-science data collection and field program opportunities over the last two decades. "

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