By PAVEL BAILEY

Tribune Staff Reporter

pbailey@tribunemedia.net

THE capture of a large green iguana in Adelaide over the weekend has renewed calls from The Bahamas National Trust for the government to move faster and more forcefully against invasive species that conservationists say are turning up more often across New Providence and beyond.

BNT Executive Director Lakeshia Anderson-Rolle confirmed to The Tribune on Sunday that the animal was sighted and caught on Saturday. She said the Trust was working with the Department of Agriculture to respond.

Mrs Anderson-Rolle said sightings of green iguanas were becoming more frequent, warning that the country’s approach to invasive species was lagging behind the scale of the threat.

“The BNT has been in touch with the department of environmental planning and protection who are looking to execute or access funding from the JEFF global environment facility to be able to address this issue at a national level,” Mrs Anderson-Rolle said.

“We have a national invasive species strategy that is outdated. It needs national attention. As an organisation, the BNT, we are putting together our invasive species strategy that will focus on controlling invasives within national parks. However, this is a national issue that the government needs to put attention too.”

Green iguanas are not native to The Bahamas. In places where they have established large populations, the reptiles have been known to strip vegetation, damage gardens and farms, and undermine infrastructure by burrowing along canal banks, seawalls and foundations.

Mrs Anderson-Rolle said the ecological risk is equally serious. She said green iguanas can outcompete native wildlife, particularly native lizards and native iguanas, for food and space.

She also warned that their burrowing behaviour can destroy habitats and create knock-on problems for infrastructure.

Mrs Anderson-Rolle urged residents not to ignore sightings. She advised people who spot green iguanas to report them to the Department of Agriculture and encouraged those who are able to trap the animals to do so before contacting animal control within the department.