Grand Cayman Blue Iguana

Once near extinction, this brilliant namesake of the Cayman islands is on the road to recovery.

Photo By: Julie Larsen Maher / Wildlife Conservation Society

The Wildlife Conservation Society and the National Trust for the Cayman Islands are trumpeting their efforts to bring this handsome reptile "back from the brink of extinction." As recently as 2002, there were fewer than two dozen Cayman blue iguanas in the wild, but fewer than 10 years of captive breeding have increased the wild population on its namesake island to about 500. Most live on the Salina Reserve, a 625-acre roadless area on the eastern side of the island.

The conservationists will declare success if they can release 1,000 healthy Cayman blue iguanas and confirm that they are breeding successfully in the wild. Ongoing threats to the impressive creatures, which can reach five feet in length, include loss of habitat to development, and the introduction of three human favorites to the islands: cars, cats and dogs.

> Related: 11 Recently Extinct Species

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