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  • RESEARCH HIGHLIGHT

Tourists’ sweet treats threaten rare iguanas’ health

Snacks of skewered grapes are damaging the metabolism of vulnerable reptiles in the Bahamas.
A northern Bahamian rock iguana (Cyclura cychlura figginsi) on the beach, with blue water and an island in the background.

Some Northern Bahamian rock iguanas have taken to eating sugary snacks proffered by tourists. Credit: Erin Lewis

Some Caribbean iguanas live a very plush life, by lizard standards. On the Exuma islands in the Bahamas, doting tourists routinely feed skewers of grapes to local Northern Bahamian rock iguanas (Cyclura cychlura).

 But this raises concerns: grapes are much higher in sugar than the reptiles’ typical fare.

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Nature 604, 601 (2022)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-022-01088-1

References

  1. French, S. S. et al. J. Exp. Biol. 225, jeb243932 (2022).

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