Allen's Cay iguanas: how many are left, where they are and how to visit

Allen’s Cay is known for its rock iguanas. The cay lies outside the Exuma Cays Land & Sea Park, but the animals are protected, and how visitors behave around them is under study.

What is the Allen’s Cay rock iguana?

The Allen’s Cay rock iguana is a subspecies of the northern Bahamian rock iguana, found on Allen’s Cay and adjacent islands in the Bahamas¹. The International Iguana Foundation says the iguanas on Allen’s Cay are endemic to three small islands⁶.

The animal was believed extinct in the early 1900s because of hunting by local fishermen⁶. Its status on the IUCN Red List is critically endangered¹.

How many Allen’s Cay iguanas are left?

The International Iguana Foundation puts the total at approximately 1,000⁶. The two cays where the iguanas occur naturally held only about 300 in the early 1980s and over 1,000 by 2016⁶.

The IUCN Iguana Specialist Group has studied the animals on Leaf Cay and U Cay for decades. Its 2015 update was the 35th year of the study⁵. The team captured 304 iguanas on Leaf Cay and 151 on U Cay that year⁵, and the study had logged over 7,500 captures on the two cays by then⁵.

Figure	Count
Iguanas on the two natural cays, early 1980s	about 3006
Iguanas on the two natural cays, by 2016	over 1,0006
Captured on Leaf Cay in the 2015 study	3045
Captured on U Cay in the 2015 study	1515
Total captures over the 35-year study	over 7,5005

Where is Allen’s Cay, and is it in the park?

Allen’s Cay sits at about 24.748° N, 76.837° W, going by photo GPS data⁴. The park’s north-east corner is at 24°35′30″ N, 76°45′50″ W², and Allen’s Cay is north of it, so the cay lies outside the park^2,4.

The park’s no-take rule covers what lies within the park’s boundaries⁸. The Tribune’s statement on the Wild Animals Protection Act covers The Bahamas as a whole, not only the park³.

The park boundaries map shows where the line runs, and the park vs wider Exumas page lists other well-known stops on either side of it.

Are rock iguanas protected by law?

The Tribune reported in 2014 that rock iguanas in The Bahamas are protected by the Wild Animals Protection Act³. Inside the park the Trust adds its own penalty for poaching: fines and confiscation of vessels⁸. Read the no-take zone guide before you move on into the park.

Should you feed the iguanas?

Tourists often feed human food to iguanas on nearby Leaf Cay¹. A Bahamas National Trust deputy park warden told the Tribune in 2014 that feeding takes iguanas away from their natural food cycle and causes problems for them³. The Trust also warned that hand-feeding is dangerous, because a red fingernail can be mistaken for food³.

The researchers add detail:

• The attraction of iguanas to the Leaf Cay feeding beach continues to increase with human traffic⁵.
• The feeding beach is only about 5% of the island, yet it produced 56% of all Leaf Cay captures⁵.
• Iguanas on the east side of Leaf Cay, where nobody feeds them, showed the slowest growth⁵.
• The long-term effects of supplemental feeding are unclear, and the foundation calls them worrisome and under investigation⁶.

Keep your hands to yourself, keep snacks in the dinghy, and let the animals come and go on their own terms.

What do heavy visits risk?

The International Iguana Foundation says one island receives 150 or more people a day who come to feed the iguanas⁶. It warns that this brings the danger of feral mammals such as rodents, dogs or cats reaching the small islands, which could be catastrophic for the populations⁶. House mice on one of the islands are now attracting non-native barn owls that threaten the iguanas⁶.

The IUCN group suspects that humans have removed the large iguanas, for food, for the pet trade, or to reduce the risk to visitors who feed them⁵.

How do you visit Allen’s Cay by boat?

Yacht Warriors, a charter operator, calls Allen’s Cay an ideal first stop for boats leaving Nassau⁷. It says the cay has several anchorage spots for vessels of various sizes, with no mooring field and good holding in its natural harbors⁷. It suggests anchoring on the west side for the most convenient access to the iguana beaches⁷.

A short hike from the beach reaches the ruins of a Loyalist house⁷. For the next stops down the chain, see Norman’s Cay and the swimming pigs of Big Major Cay.

Are there iguanas inside the park?

Inside the Exuma Cays Land & Sea Park, visitors can observe iguanas along with birds, fish and turtles². Pets are limited to beaches only inside the park, partly because pets have caused the loss of rare or endangered species, including rock iguanas and hutia⁸. For the species that live in the park, see the park wildlife guide. The places hub lists every cay in this guide.