Ecotourists in the Bahamas feed iguanas too much sugar, causing them to suffer from sugar problems. Article about it published In the Journal of Experimental Biology.
Various species of iguana live in the Bahamas, including the common cyclora. This iguana species feeds on leaves and fruit plants, and its droppings often resemble curled, pressed leaves.
These animals often attract ecotourists who want to feed them sweet fruits, especially grapes. Because of this, their stools have become watery and misshapen.
Suzanne French of the University of Utah and her colleagues studied the effects of a high-sugar diet on Bahamian iguanas. They caught 48 individuals, half of whom grew up on tourist-visited islands and half did not. The iguanas were given a glucose drink and their sugar levels were monitored throughout the day. It turned out that those who interacted a lot with tourists had the highest blood sugar peaks and lasted several hours. Iguanas who don’t eat the sweet fruit will have their sugar levels rise more slowly and return to normal more quickly.
Scientists now plan to find out whether such a diet causes serious harm to the health of iguanas.
Source: Gazeta
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