In 1976, wild dogs wiped out the last colonies of land iguanas around Conway Bay on Santa Cruz Island. This prompted the Charles Darwin Research Station (CDRS) and the Galapagos National Park Service (GNPS) to initiate an emergency rescue scheme for the 60 remaining survivors. They then discovered that a similar level of destruction was occurring on Isabella Island. The GNPS and CDRS established a recovery programme, including a captive breeding scheme based on Santa Cruz. The captive breeding programme continues today, and land iguanas are returned to the wild when they reach a size beyond which they are safe from cat predation (2) (6). This breeding programme is accompanied by a campaign to work towards the eradication and tighter control of introduced animals. Other important measures include the maintenance of suitable habitat for the species, and continued monitoring of the populations (2).