Bitter Guana Cay
Moving from Staniel Cay over to Bitter Guana Cay, where endangered pink iguanas are prevalent.
We decided to move on and see if we could watch the Super Bowl further down the island chain tomorrow.
After provisioning and topping off our water, we again left Staniel Cay, heading for Bitter Guana. This cay is home to the endangered Northern Bahamas Rock Iguana Sanctuary. The prehistoric-looking pink iguanas found here are the Exuma Island iguana (C. c. figginsi). These are one of only three recognized subspecies of the northern Bahamian rock iguana, of which only 5,000 remain. Each subspecies is considered endangered. The most significant threats to these animals are feral animals, tourist fires, and rapid land acquisition. Among the predators of the iguana are dogs; as such, dogs are forbidden from coming to shore at the sanctuary.
After dropping anchor, we got out the binoculars and couldn’t find iguanas anywhere! We hope they’ll come out in the morning. We figured they’d bedded down for the night.
As the sun came up the next morning, so did the iguanas! While they won’t run away from you as you approach, they are still wild animals. You can tell that they’ve been fed in the past by visitors; if it even looks like you might have food in your hand, they will run at you.
While they don’t seem to intend to be aggressive, they do have sharp teeth and are a little intimidating! You can walk on the beach with them and be fine, but keep those hands and fingers away!
It was really neat to see these little dinosaurs and the white cliffs right on the beach!
