The Santa Fe and Galápagos land iguanas are large and charismatic lizards endemic to the Galápagos archipelago, but little information exists on their normal health parameters. Evaluation of the baseline health status of wildlife is important for conservation projects. This information serves to determine health parameters of the species of concern, is of value in caring for captive individuals of these species, and serves as a future reference point for comparison in the event of disease or death in captive or wild populations. It is optimal to have established these values in advance of unexpected morbidity or mortality so that results can be properly interpreted and understood. WCS' Chief Veterinarian, Dr Paul Calle joined with Ecuadorian partners to perform health evaluations of Galápagos land iguanas in July 2018 and the team recently published their findings:
Health Assessment of Conolophus subcristatus, Conolophus pallidus, and C. subcristatus X Amblyrhynchus cristatus hybrid (Galápagos land iguanas)
Read more about these charismatic species in Dr Calle's Wildview Blog "Cactus Lunch"
The team performing iguana health assessments on North Seymour Island (Photo: Paul Calle/ WCS)