- USA National parks open a virtual window
- Spain: eleven corners where spring will come yes or yes
In recent years, Instagram has become our best window to the world : places immortalized from different perspectives, the discovery of little-known destinations , but also animals, many animals.
A reality that includes flamingos from Flamingo Beach , in Aruba; to the alpacas that guard the road to Machu Picchu, passing the (chained) elephants of the Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage, in Sri Lanka , to mention just a few cases.
Specimens whose treatment does not always reflect the respect that our ecosystem deserves, but that in any case he had added the Bahamas iguanas to his collection .
The Goliats of the Caribbean
In Exuma , an archipelago of up to 365 Bahamian islands and cays, the appearance of photographs of the so-called iguanas of the Allen Keys has increased, a species patented by the biologist John Iverson after an exhaustive study during the last forty years. Some curious inhabitants whose main feature resides in their size, since these tropical Goliats can reach up to eight kilos in weight.
The presence of large amounts of tropical plants and flowers, their favorite food, and a diet based on rodents and small seabirds would explain this rapid growth compared to other species spread across the planet.
"Seabirds leave the island and feed on the surrounding waters. They eat fish that are full of nutrients from the ocean. Once seabirds process this food, all the additional nutrients accumulate on the island and that brings tons of nutrients, "explains Iverson .
Huge dark-skinned iguanas with characteristic pinkish tones that were initially confined to two of the islands of Exuma: Leaf Cay and U Cay. However, since the late 90's its presence has spread to other islands of the archipelago -among them the now famous Bitter Guana Cay-, thanks to the marine currents that transport many of the young.
TOURIST INVASION
The result, unsurprisingly, has resulted in an iguana colony that has attracted the eyes of instagrammers . In fact, excursions were organized whose purpose was to take a photo among these reptiles worthy of the umpteenth sequel to Jurassic Park, which they fed with stems and grapes, since in addition to being abundant, iguanas have no problem approaching visitors.
Although the islands were enabled for this purpose in the 1960s, today there are many experts who agree on the long-term consequences that the invasion of tourists can cause in this ecosystem.
In fact, in the last fifty years the Bahamas iguana population has decreased by 20 percent, added to the paradox of a government in the Bahamas without official conservation programs but teams of volunteers who are in charge of cleaning the beaches.
Bahamas was a zoo
The presence of these curious iguanas does not surprise those who see the Bahamas as a zoo for Instagram lovers. In fact, the island complex is especially famous for the presence of Exuma swimming pigs .
Of uncertain origin (there are those who believe that the ancestors of these animals came from a wrecked ship, while others assure that they were introduced on these beaches as a marketing action to attract tourism), these little pigs swim in the celestial waters fed by visitors they brought I get everything from nuts to jelly beans. Its presence, in addition, would have a certain relationship with the decrease in the iguana population, since many of them destroy the egg nests.
A situation that can be criticized at least where there are many other examples and species: the sharks of Compass Cay, the more than 80 thousand flamingos that dye the salt flats of Lake Rosa or some starfish that end up hanging on the shoulder or the manes of instagrammers with delusions of little mermaid .
Scenarios on which we now have time to reflect : the fine line between invasion and posture draws new challenges for those who intend to return to these natural paradises looking for the best snapshot and, with it, the stealthy invasion of our ecosystems.
According to the criteria of The Trust Project
Know more- Bahamas
- tourism
- Stay at home
EuropeThe King of Thailand quarantines 20 concubines at a luxury German hotel
Quarantine Where are Timbuktu or Vanuatu? An online trivial to test your traveling knowledge
Stories From a control tower to a port crane ... these hotels have an amazing past