an initial release in December 2005. The restored subpopulation in the Queen Elizabeth II Botanic Park has been breeding since 2001, and the subpopulation in the Salina Reserve was deemed to be breeding in 2006 after a nest of three hatched eggs was discovered in the wild. In April 2007, after another large-scale release, there were 299 blue iguanas living in the wild, with hundreds more being raised in captivity on Grand Cayman. In late 2012, the blue iguana recovery program estimated that the wild population had risen to approximately 750 individuals, and the IUCN subsequently downlisted the species from critically endangered to endangered. International trade in the species is regulated due to its listing on Appendix I of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species. Causes of decline Habitat destruction is the main factor threatening extinction for this iguana. Land clearance within remnant habitat is occurring for agriculture, road construction, and real estate development and speculation. The conversion of traditional crop lands to cattle pasture is eliminating secondary blue iguana habitat. Predation and injury to hatchlings by rats, to hatchlings and sub-adults by feral cats, and killing of adults by pet dogs are all placing severe pressure on the remaining wild population. Automobiles and motorscooters are an increasing cause of mortality as the iguanas rarely survive the collisions. Trapping and shooting is a comparatively minor concern, and has stopped according to the IUCN in 2012, but before 1995 occasional trapping may have occurred. The common green iguana, (Iguana iguana), has been introduced from Honduras and is well-established on Grand Cayman as an invasive species. It far outnumbers the native blue iguana. No direct negative consequences on the blue iguana due to this introduction are known, but the mere presence of the green iguana confuses public attitudes and understanding. For example, the people of the island are told that blue iguanas are endangered and rare, but the green iguana looks very similar and are quite common in suburban areas. In 2008 six blue iguanas were found dead in the preserve within Queen Elizabeth II Botanic Park on Grand Cayman. The iguanas were apparently killed by human vandals armed with knives and two of the slaughtered animals were gravid females about to lay eggs. The wild population of blue iguanas had been reduced from a near island-wide distribution to a non-viable, fragmented remnant. By 2001 no young hatched in the