Once endemic on Santiago Island in the Galapagos Archipelago, the land iguana
Conolophus subcristatus disappeared from the island in the early 20th century. An expedition in 1903-06 from the California Academy of Sciences did not find any of the species still living there. The Ecuadorian government relocated three thousand from a nearby island to restore ecological balance on Santiago. In 1835 Darwin recorded a huge numbers of the terrestrial lizard during his visit.
The director of Ecuador's park system said that the relocation effort has been a success with a healthy number of iguanas of all ages. Director Danny Rueda said, "It's a great conservation success story and strengthens our hopes of restoration on islands that have been affected by introduced species." [photo credit: R. Buendia]
