The following was shared by Desiree Wong on the Pangea Forums.

"It is with tremendous sadness that I'm posting this. I received this notification from John Binns this afternoon. This is another blow to BIRP, as in 2006, 3 founder animals were killed by stray dogs. This violence is senseless, initated by humans.

"Horrific news from the Blue Iguana Recovery Program that occurred last night May 3rd, 2008.

Vandals broke into the Blue Iguana Breeding Facility last night and violently killed at least five of the most prominent captive Blue Iguanas.

Listed of the known dead are:

Eldemire
Sara
Digger
Yellow
Pedro

Other Blues have been injured but to what extent is yet unknown. “Billy’ and “Jessica” are two of the injured.

Photo of each have been attached. These are images of the plaques that were to be placed on each of their pens currently in shipment to Grand Cayman. Des Note: I didn't attached the photos in this post

The animals were all maimed by being stepped on or knifed. There was amputation of some parts. At least one body found outside the pens in the tour staging area.

Police and government are on the scene.

Fred indicates these Blues were not in their retreats, and those that were, were spared. Those killed were friendly and welcomed humans.

Current speculation is the vandals were teenagers on drugs and/or alcohol. Some have been recently turned away from the park, and since then broken bottles have been strewn along the road leading into the park.

Fred will issue a local press release tomorrow with all the details, and following that an international press release.

BIRP will hold a special burial service for the victims. Needless to say we are all devastated.

Those wishing to make a donation toward the memorial should use this contribution port: https://ircf.org/donate.php Select “Blue Iguana Recovery Program” in the dropdown button in the lower right.


John"

The Official Press Release can be found here (Warning Graphic Pictures): http://www.blueiguana.ky

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This is a very sad day. My heart goes out to all the individuals who have spent countless hours trying to save this species. To have progress put to a sudden hault like this has no words. Hopefully everyone has the strength to keep pushing forward.

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