Scientists ask Ecuador to crack down as smugglers are caught with dozens of Galápagos marine iguanas
Mongabay explains how the world's only sea-swimming lizard ends up stuffed in boxes bound for collectors.
What happened: In a letter in Science, researchers led by Juan José Alava of Simon Fraser University urge Ecuador to audit airport checks and break up smuggling networks targeting Galápagos marine iguanas, Mongabay reports. In August, authorities in Quito caught a Russian woman with 32 live iguanas packed in eight plastic boxes headed for Iceland; in May, three Thai nationals were arrested with 12. Nearly 50 have been seized this year.
Why it matters: The marine iguana is the only lizard that swims in the sea and eats algae; trafficking piles onto climate change, plastic and pollution pressures.
How much agreement is there? Broad agreement that the trade is harmful and illegal (the species went on CITES Appendix I in 2025). Open questions are how big it is, since more seizures may mean better enforcement or more smuggling, and whether corruption at airports plays a role, which the authors suspect.
Could someone help? Never buy wild-caught reptiles or 'captive-bred' endemics of doubtful origin; the authors also ask CITES countries to close the loophole that lets offspring of smuggled animals be sold legally.
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Marine iguana
After exploring Scientists call on Ecuador to stop the rising trafficking of Galápagos iguanas, the animal itself is profiled in Marine iguana.
The marine iguana lives only on the Galápagos and, unique among modern lizards, forages in the sea for the algae that make up almost all of its diet.
Wikipedia · Wade · 5 min
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