A Story of Hope and Regeneration
for a species thought to be extinct…
Story by Diane Covington-Carter
At the Malolo Island Resort ‘Kid’s Club’ in Fiji, children sat on the floor, excited to hear a special presentation. Toddlers snuggled in the laps of older siblings, and all were dressed for fun and the beach.
The children gazed at Malolo, the bright colored blue and green iguana, stretched across the shoulder of staff member Meli, there to present the program. Malolo clutched onto Meli’s shirt, his yellow eyes peering out, his long tail reaching down to Meli’s waist.
“Do any of you know what the word extinct means?” Meli asked the children.
Hands shot up. Yes, this generation knew too well the meaning of extinct.
“Well, this iguana is found here in Fiji, nowhere else on the planet. And 10 years ago, we thought it was extinct. No one had seen one in twenty-five years on this island.” The children listened, eyes wide, intent on Meli and the blue green iguana.
“But I’m going to tell you a story. One day, 10 years ago…”
The morning sun sparkled on the clear water of the lagoon at the luxury resort, Likuliku, on the Fijian island of Malolo Levu. Staff bustled, clearing away the buffet breakfast, while guests snorkeled in the coral reefs or relaxed in their beachfront bures. The resort had been open three years and was flourishing.
Steve Anstey, General Manager of Ahura Resorts, which included Likuliku Lagoon Resort and the adjacent Malolo Island Resort, had always been a conservationist. So, when he developed the property, he took a light touch on the land. He built a fire break to protect not only the resort, but the natural forest. He also started trapping non-native predators, feral cats, dogs and rats, which were killing native birds and animals.
As Anstey worked in his office that morning, something caught his attention and he sat up straight to listen. His employees had begun speaking in Fijian, a full octave higher than usual, rapid, excited, concerned.
“What is it?” he asked himself, holding his breath. The weather report was clear, there were no cyclones heading their way. Was a guest ill? He stepped out of his office and stood next to his resort manager and interrupted her rapid-fire conversation to find out what was wrong.
“They’ve found an iguana,” she replied.
“A what?” Anstey stood there perplexed at the commotion all around him.
“What does an iguana have to do with us?”
He would look back later and know that at that moment, his life and the life of the resorts he oversaw would change. But he didn’t know that then.
The Fijian Crested Iguana, Brachylophus vitiensis, a prehistoric resident of the Fijian islands, had not been spotted for twenty-five years and was thought to be extinct. This species only existed in that corner of the world. That they had found one was a very big deal. And the adult female was injured.
Anstey grasped the importance of the situation: they had to try to save this iguana. As there were no veterinarians on the island, he phoned the Kula Wild Adventure Park, on the nearby main island of Viti Levu, and they agreed to try to help. An employee, traveling back to Viti Levu, would take the iguana with her. So the injured iguana, in a plastic cat carrier, began its journey, first in a small boat, then onto a ferry and then into a car.
On the main island, the iguana was still alive, but the clock was ticking. When the employee’s car broke down, she called Anstey in a panic.
Anstey got back on the phone, and through his contacts, found out that the Attorney General of Fiji was headed to Suva, the capital, near the park, and would be willing to transport the iguana. So the injured iguana, in the plastic cat carrier, traveled to the park in the official car of the Attorney General, along with his two bodyguards.
In a remarkable stroke of luck, leading iguana experts Dr. Robert Fisher, from the United States Geological Survey, and Dr. Peter Harlowe of Taronga Zoo, Sydney, Australia, happened to be in Fiji. The two scientists were stunned and thrilled that the iguana had been found. Unfortunately, the iguana died two hours after arriving at the park, but the scientists were able to take a sample for DNA testing.
The test news confirmed everyone’s hopes. The injured female iguana was indeed, a Malolo Levu Island Fijian Crested Iguana. The rare species, one of the most endangered species on the planet, had been rediscovered.
Excitement increased when three months later, staff found a baby male iguana at Malolo Island Resort, the sister resort to Likuliku, also managed by Anstey. A few months after, a young female appeared at Likuliku resort. They now had a male and a female. Over the next few years, more iguanas appeared, generating international scientific interest.
So in 2012, a team of scientists, Dr. Robert Fisher, Dr. Peter Harlowe, and Kim Gray, of San Diego Zoo Global, arrived. The luxury resort was now not only providing a pristine, luxury island experience for guests, but had become the scene of a major scientific research project.
As Anstey sat with the scientists and international experts, they outlined the issues and problems.
The tropical dry forest habitat, where the iguanas live, is one of the most endangered ecosystems on the planet. Before climate change, it had covered Malolo Levu and nearby islands, but now, only about one percent remained, most of it in small, isolated pockets. This forest supported not only the Fijian Crested Iguana, but also many other native animals and birds. Without the forest, they had no safe place to live.
When female iguanas lay their eggs, they come down from the treetops, dig an eight-inch hole, lay three to four eggs, then leave them for nine months to incubate. But non-native feral cats, dogs and rats preyed on the iguanas, dug up their eggs and then devoured the young that managed to hatch. Without the habitat and with the predator problem, there was no hope for the iguanas. But a few had survived, in spite of all these challenges. The excitement of the scientists was catching.
“This is called a Lazarus species, one brought back from the dead,” Fisher said. “The fire break and eliminating the predators were business decisions by Anstey to improve and protect his resort, but they were also biodiversity actions. Which is why the iguanas started to come back.”
Together, they developed a two-pronged program to remedy the major threats to the iguanas. They would continue to trap and remove the predators. Working to restore the habitat would be a long-term effort.
“This is it. We’re going to plant trees,” Anstey told his team.
The resort started a nursery and began planting 20 species of the native trees in 10 by 10-meter plots. The goal was to try to stitch together the remaining patches of dry forest so that the iguanas could thrive.
“At first, Anstey didn’t even know what dry forest habitat was,” Fisher said. “But he listened to our advice and he invested in it.”
“I got swept along in this wonderful journey of learning and was in a position to make it happen,”Anstey said. “The idea that we could possibly bring a species back from the brink of extinction. How could we possibly turn away?”
For four years, they continued their programs of dry forest habitat restoration and predator elimination. Then suddenly it kicked in. Late in 2016, when the scientists returned to monitor the iguana population, the forest was full of baby iguanas! In fact, the babies seemed to outnumber the adults. The team’s years of hard work had paid off.
The resort has now planted over 6500 trees on their property and the local villages follow their lead, also planting trees. In 2017, Anstey hired Fijian. Sia Rasalato, as a Group Environment Manager, the first in the country to have that title. Rasalato manages the project and works to educate the locals, the staff and guests about the iguanas and the work to restore them. He also facilitates the popular iguana program for children visiting Malolo Island Resort.
“As the dry forest has increased, the forest canopy absorbs carbon dioxide and also provides mulch, leaves and organic material on the ground to hold water,” Rasalato said. “In two and a half years, the soil has turned from dry, red to rich, black.”
Kim Gray, of San Diego Zoo Global, along with Robert Fisher, created protected mini-habitats for four pairs of iguanas. In these captive breeding sanctuaries, they have hatched an assurance population of four generations of iguanas; they are the only facility in the world where iguanas hatch under normal circumstances, with no incubator. When the iguanas are mature enough, they are tagged and released back into the wild.
“To the Fijians, the Crested Iguana is their national symbol, like our bald eagle,” Gray said. “Working in this field, saving animals from extinction is a constant battle that we know we’re losing. And then we have this project in Fiji, which gives us hope on so many levels. It makes all of our work worthwhile.”
The children had listened with rapt attention, then all gathered around Meli to stroke Malolo’s long tail.
“So how can we help iguanas like Malolo, to make sure they don’t go extinct again,” he asked?
“Plant trees and keep them safe,” one little girl said.
“That’s right!”
The children then headed out to plant trees as part of their nature activities for the week.
The Fijian Crested Iguana is still listed as ‘critically endangered’ on the IUCN ‘Red List of Threatened Species’. Anstey has set up a foundation to carry on the work and to ensure its future.
Diane Covington-Carter is an award-winning journalist, author and photographer. www.dianecovingtoncarter.com.
© Diane Covington-Carter 2022
