IGUANAS AND PIGS AND SHARKS, OH MY!!!!!

IGUANAS AND PIGS AND SHARKS, OH MY!!!!!!!

This entry starts on April 28, 2012... 

Gus gives a very sad face when we leave the boat without him!

From our anchorage off Highboure Cay we decide to take the dinghy to Southwest Allen’s Cay.  This time Gus and Pepper have to stay on the boat as there are no dogs allowed on any of the Allen’s Cay Group because these islands are home to a colony of endangered Euxma iguanas.  

We took a dinghy ride to the beach.  You stand quietly on the shore and watch as first one, then another, then another, iguana comes to see what you’ll do.  Eventually we saw about a dozen motionless iguanas of widely varying sizes, poised silently in watchfulness.

Our first glimpse.

The iguanas inhabiting the Exuma Islands are considered to be among the world’s most endangered lizards and are found nowhere else.  These iguanas are vegetarians and are important to the island because they help disperse seeds and prune plants, which helps maintain a healthy plant community

One guesses that once they existed Bahamas-wide, but sometime post-Columbus that was it – curtains for most of them.  As it is, if you wonder at the name, it’s Spanish, and they took it from the Arawak word for the animal “iwana.” Small scaly creature about the size of a dachshund, and with no more ground clearance than a few inches.

The Exuma Iguanas can weigh as much as 24 pounds (I don’t really care to see that one!) and live to be 80 years old.  They eat mainly leaves, flowers and fruits (luckily not fingers and toes!)  They breed every one to three years, construct their nests in sand during June and July (darn!  We were there in April!)  They deposit up to 10 eggs in the nest and after 80 days the hatchlings emerge.

 

"Now THIS is my good side..."

These iguanas are part of a long-term study to investigate their survival, nesting behavior, and population growth.  Some Exuma iguana populations have been under study for over 30 years!  Bahamian and International laws protect the lizards.

Not sure what this guy way trying to say...

but then he just glared at me!

After spending time with our new “friends” and Fred scouring the beach picking up trash, we decide to head back to Jambo.  We say goodbye to our new friends.

Fred's afternoon's work!

We're saved!!!

Just as we are getting to a reef we have to transit to get back to the boat, the dinghy engine starts curring out. We pump the fuel line, it starts again, and we go a bit and stall out again.  Long story short, Kevin called a nearby boat and one of their crew comes out on their jet ski and towes us in.  turns out, our fuel line was pinched by something in the hold.  No big problem, just us not knowing where to look.  Lesson learned.

That afternoon we head in to the marina at Highbourne Cay and end up docked right next to Risky Business.

RAIN, RAIN GO AWAY – AND THIS WIND CAN TAKE A HIKE AS WELL!!!

The next four days are foul weather!  Winds 30-35 with torrential rain for two of the days.  Fred managed to take the dogs to the beach each day and they came back looking like drowned rats!  (Ups, this is supposed to be about pigs...!)

Pepper and Gus are happy to be along for the ride!

When the weather finally cleared, we headed to a lovely spot off the island of Big Majors.  This is the home of what I call "pig beach".  You approach the beach in your dingy y and are met by any number of wild pigs that inhabit the islands.  The SWIM (yes, I said swim) out to greet you and see what goodies you have brought for them to eat.  It is quite a site and they swim out quite far.

Here they come!!!

We had to hold Gus in...he wanted to join in the swim!

Here's a guy swimming out to another dinghy...
The seagulls get in the act as well.

There is more to show...but I have no more internet right now.  Will post Part 2 in the next few days...


coming up next -- more pigs, piglets and SHARKS!