Monday, December 15, 2014

The recipe of Honduras that is taking a species of iguana to extinction

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The iguana meat is part of a long Central American cuisine. For those who prefer to have these animals as company the idea can be as unpleasant as eating dog meat. But civilised cultures are very different in different parts of the world.

The iguana meat is so popular in Central America that there are farms for breeding these animals in El Salvador, arriving to export meat to Asia and to North America. During a severe drought that affected Nicaragua during this year, the Government advised its citizens consume iguana meat rather than another type of meat.

However, the consumption of iguana meat in Honduras is becoming a problem. Many of the species of iguana that inhabit the territory of the country are already threatened by habitat loss. The iguana Aguán Valley is one of the most endangered species in Central America and, however, is one of the species most sought after for their meat. It is estimated that there are only 5,000 copies in the Aguán River Valley, where are native.

Investigators from the San Diego Zoo and the National Autonomous University of Honduras made an inquiry to the inhabitants of the area to assess the degree of awareness of the population about the decline of species and also to see if there is a way to lock.

One of the main findings of the investigation was the way the iguanas are dwindling and everything is related to the way in which they are cooked. Apparently, the best way to serve these iguanas is with their eggs, which means that when females are hunting are full of eggs and their meat is more valuable.

Thus, the population decreases not only by adult iguanas that are captured as the future generations that never comes. However, in addition to the problem of the eggs, the iguana meat still has a great reputation throughout Central America. In this region of the globe, the flesh of this animal is considered a cure for all ills, from colds to impotence, writes the Motherboard.

This reputation extends to Honduras, where 38 percent of residents polled by the researchers consider that the iguana meat is medicinal. However, the majority of respondents, especially older ones, are aware of the reduction of the numbers on the iguana populations. But the solution to the problem is not simple. This region of Aguán Valley is particularly poor and the population lives in small communities that remain of little agriculture.

The survey denotes that the long-term objectives of conservationists and inhabitants are the same: more iguanas. However, in the short term, there is a conflict of aims.

Foto: Landfotograf/Creative Commons

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