INDEX	Sunday January 2, 2022
		It is quite difficult to spend much time outdoors in the Caymans, at least in day time; certainly if you are a tourist from colder climes. So water pursuits (diving, snorkelling, swimming, boating) are very popular. It's easier to deal with the heat if you are under water. And Caymans seas are warm, welcoming and plentiful. Grand Cayman, the biggest island is just 76 square miles but has at least 50 miles of shore line. Lonely, isolated beaches with silver sands are much commoner than even wild chickens, probably the most common bird on the Caymans.
So there is a great deal of interest in the marine wildlife, but less so in the land based fauna. Perhaps for this reason they only discovered the native (and allegedly unique) blue iguana was close to extinction 15 years ago. And lizards like the friendly beast photographed above are just called 'curly tailed lizards'. There is no common name, just the description. Perhaps it is all to the good. The island throbs with a spectacular array of all kinds of living things, mostly (except the iguanas) clearly breeding like mad. It's a fecund place as befits a Caribbean paradise. Perhaps the lack of human interest, is good for them?
INDEX Jonathan Brind		Sunday January 2, 2022