Banded Iguana

The Banded Iguana Brachylophus fasciatus are believed to have evolved from green iguanas that rafted on debris from South America across 11,000 kilometres of the Pacific to Fiji and then by way of introduction to other Pacific islands including Vanuatu. Vanuatu has 19 lizard species of which 13 are skinks and 5 are geckoes. The other is the Banded Iguana and it is found only on the main island of Efate. A few kilometers out of the capital Port Vila at Mele, is the Secret Garden, which has a community of Iguana that is a natural attraction for visitors showing how the reptiles live in the wild. The Banded Iguana is a spectacularly beautiful, large (between 60 and 80cm), emerald-green lizard, named for the highly distinctive, broad, light blue, vertical stripes on the body and tail of males. Females, by contrast, are usually uniformly green, and are smaller than the males. The extremely long tail makes up to two thirds of the lizard's total length, and is used for balance as it climbs amongst the forest branches. Being an arboreal creature, usually preferring trees and bushes with lots of branches where they can best hide themselves, they are very good at climbing and leaping through branches, and can even swim. 

All Banded Iguanas are diurnal, spending their days foraging, basking and watching over their territories. At night, they climb to the treetops, and sleep with their limbs wrapped around the branches for stability. The lizards are omnivorous, subsisting on the many fruits and leaves of the forest and the abundant insect life. Male iguanas are highly visual, and aggressively defend their territories from rival males. Sexual maturity can be reached at an age of around 16 months and breeding occurs from November through January, with between 3 and 6 eggs being laid.

Due to habitat destruction and predators, populations of these iguanas internationally have been declining to the point where they were threatened with extinction. This category has now been down graded to “vulnerable”. The International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) however has placed the Banded Iguana on its endangered Red List (1996). It is estimated that the Pacific population is less than 10,000 individuals. In 1987, the Vanuatu government formed the National Advisory Committee on the Environment (NACE) to address the nation's developing environmental concerns. The Estuarine Crocodile, Hawksbill Turtle, Banded Iguana, and Flying Fox were the identified threatened species, and Vanuatu Post supports this environmental concern.