The Iguanas of St. Thomas

An iguana on the grass in St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands.

Before traveling to St. Thomas, in the U.S. Virgin Islands a few weeks ago, I had read that iguanas were quite prevalent.  They are, in fact, just about as prevalent as squirrels are in Northeast Ohio.  My first encounter, pictured here, was a little disconcerting, not knowing whether these dragon like creatures were dangerous or not.  This iguana, I nicknamed “Iggie,” came toward me several times and I have to admit that I backed away each time!  A day or 2 later I learned that they are herbivores, primarily eating fruit and vegetables. Many of them avoided people, but in some touristy areas they seemed pretty comfortable around people.

"Iggie" the iguana approaches for a closeup.

A few days later, I came upon “Iggie” again.  This time I was preparing to do some snorkeling and had a Nikon AW100 underwater camera with me.  Getting down as close to ground level as I could to get some more photos of “Iggie,” at his eye level, he began to approach.  I held my ground this time and he eventually came close enough to lick my camera lens!  Since learning that they have an appetite for bright colored fruit, I now believe that “Iggie” may have thought my orange colored AW100 was in fact a bright piece of fruit!

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