Little Cayman Killed 176 Feral Cats and the Endangered Iguanas Tripled in Three Years
Between June 2022 and May 2024, wildlife officials on Little Cayman shot and trapped 176 feral cats. By March 2025, the population of the critically endangered Sister Islands Rock Iguana had more than tripled — from roughly 1,000 individuals to 3,500.
That is not a typo. Three and a half times the population. In three years.
The Numbers Don't Lie
The Department of Environment's 2025 population survey recorded the highest iguana numbers since formal counting began in 2014. Hatchling proportions were the highest ever observed. The agency's report attributed the surge directly to reduced feral cat predation pressure following the cull.
That's from the Cayman Compass report on the official survey results.
How It Happened
The cull was funded by a Darwin Plus grant from the UK government. The Department of Environment, the National Trust for the Cayman Islands, the Cayman Islands Humane Society, and the Department of Agriculture all participated. High-powered air rifles were used in targeted removal operations.
Little Cayman also became the first island in the Cayman chain to achieve 100% of domestic pet cats microchipped, vaccinated, and desexed. The community actually cooperated. That alone is remarkable.
Brown booby nesting success on nearby Cayman Brac showed "marked improvement" during the same period. The birds were being eaten too.
Cat Activists Tried to Kill the Program
Of course they did. In late 2025, activists launched a campaign to undermine the biodiversity protection effort. They spread misinformation about the cull methods and tried to pressure officials into stopping. The Cayman News Service documented how these activists were actively sabotaging conservation outcomes.
In September 2025, the National Conservation Council responded by adopting new formal feral cat control procedures for all environmentally sensitive areas in the Cayman Islands. The government did not back down.
What This Proves
The math is brutally simple. 176 cats removed. 2,500 more iguanas alive. The Sister Islands Rock Iguana is classified as Critically Endangered by the IUCN — fewer than 5,000 exist on the planet, and they live only on Little Cayman and Cayman Brac.
Feral cats were eating the hatchlings before they could grow. Remove the cats, the babies survive, the population rebounds. No complicated theory. No expensive habitat restoration. Just remove the predator that should never have been there in the first place.
Every island, every coastal community, every city with a feral cat colony should be studying Little Cayman right now. The proof is walking around on four stubby legs, basking in the Caribbean sun, instead of rotting in a cat's stomach.