On Saturday, November 14, the 1,000th head-started Jamaican Rock Iguana (Cyclura collei) will be released into the Hellshire Hills in St Catherine, its native habitat.

The recovery programme is coordinated by the National Environment and Planning Agency (NEPA) with local and international partners, and hatchlings are raised at Hope Zoo until they are old enough to defend themselves against predators in the wild.

The species was genuinely thought to be extinct and declared so in 1948 before being rediscovered in 1990, making the turnaround all the more remarkable.

Minister of Water, Environment and Climate Change Matthew Samuda said the release marks more than 30 years of coordinated scientific research, habitat management, captive rearing, predator control and species reintroduction.

"The release of the 1,000th Jamaican iguana is not simply a numerical achievement," he said, noting each iguana represents years of scientific effort and the commitment of institutions who refuse to accept extinction as the species' final chapter.

According to the Jamaica Observer, protecting the remaining wild population in the Hellshire Hills involves monitoring nesting sites and controlling invasive predators such as Indian mongooses and feral cats, with more than 280 live predator traps monitored and more than 1,500 predators removed from the iguana's core habitat over time.

Hope Zoo's head-start programme cares for roughly 250 to 300 juvenile iguanas at a time. NEPA ranger Jomo Pinkney told the Observer that iguanas help regenerate trees by dispersing seeds after eating fruit — a role especially vital in the Hellshire Hills, home to the Caribbean's largest dry forest.

Iguana Conservation Specialist Tandora Del Grant, involved since 1995, told the Jamaica Observer the milestone shows the animals in the wild are surviving and reproducing on their own, though she cautioned the work is far from over.

She identified the eventual reintroduction of iguanas to Goat Island as the next major milestone, potentially serving as another sanctuary and head-start facility.

Samuda also said Jamaica has protected slightly more than 25 percent of its landmass and aims to surpass the 30 percent target within a year and a half, ahead of the 2030 international deadline, with increased conservation funding planned for the coming fiscal year.