Utila Island Cleanups and Kanahau Wildlife Conservation Organization are joining forces to clean the nesting and breeding areas of The Utila Spiny-Tailed Iguana (commonly known as the Swamper).

The Utila Spiny-Tailed Iguana is an endemic species that is currently categorized as Critically Endangered by the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.

Some of the main threatening causes are:

One of the main challenges to keeping the nesting areas clean is accessibility, as many of the sites are only accessible by boat. We are working together to access the area at the beginning of 2026, which is when the breeding season starts.

The funds collected for this project will cover:

About the Swamper breeding and nesting season:

The main breeding season occurs from January to late July, and mating occurs on or near the ground in the mangrove forests. Females then migrate from the mangroves to beachfronts to nest in a variety of areas, including those with full sun exposure, under piles of leaf litter and oceanic litter, beneath large beachfront trees, and within short shrub vegetation (D. Maryon pers. obs. 2017).

Nesting takes place from February to August. Females lay an average of 11 to 16 eggs in nests that can be up to a few meters long but not more than 60 cm deep (Gutsche 2006, D. Maryon pers. obs. 2017).

Any of your help is greatly appreciated- whether you can donate $1 or $50, or by helping us share our funding campaign!

For more information about the Spiny Tailed Iguana: https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/44181/125203850

For more information about Utila Island Cleanups and Kanahau:

https://www.kanahau.org/

https://www.instagram.com/utila.island.cleanups/

Thank you kindly,

Utila Island Cleanups and Kanahau teama