If you judge people, you have no time to love them.
~ Mother Teresa
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Our relationship of less than one year has known moments of unbridled laughter. We have experienced countless memories of tenderness that fill me with joy.
Of course, there’s a flip side. Being in a romantic union with him hasn’t always been butterflies and blueberries. And that’s only natural — relationships aren’t perfect.
But, there’s been this tugging at my heart lately because where we live there, here in Borikén (aka Puerto Rico), there are a large number of green iguanas. They have destroyed several of his plants and a couple of the trees beside his house, as well as that of the home next door (which used to be my partner’s mother’s residence).
The situation is a difficult one. Here’s how it has gone down.
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Mother Nature
My partner holds an unshakeable reverence for la naturaleza (nature). Growing up with it all around, exploring the palm groves, swimming in the deep parts of the ocean, running with friends along the beaches of his coastal hometown — from a young age he connected with this part of his essence.
As an adult, he continues to maintain a deep respect for La Madre Naturaleza and for all she provides. He often shares with me stories of what Hurricane Maria brought to the archipelago. Those first-hand accounts still bring tears to my eyes.
In his words:
[With Maria] we learned that She [Mother Nature] reigns. But there’s more to it — she continues to remind us to not destroy Her. La Madre Naturaleza teaches us how we must change our behavior to co-exist with Her.
As someone who sees how my partner lives with such a close connection to Mother Nature, it strikes me as odd that he sees things differently when it comes to the iguanas.
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The Plan
When I first moved in with my partner I noticed plenty of these creatures — lounging on tree branches, crossing the dirt path to a grassier section of our neighborhood, dead on the side of the street 😢.
Other than dodging their poop on the ground and looking up whenever walking on the path (to ensure they weren’t directly above me), I didn’t pay them much attention.
Until a few months — when he told me about a plan to get rid of them.
The original idea was that he’d lure them into a crate and carry them off to the countryside. Sounded great to me!
But that plan never came to fruition. Instead what my partner did was pay one of his cousins to go after them with his pellet rifle. His cousin would hunt them and my partner would give him a few dollars.
Payment for pest control.
A win-win situation, according to them. I was uncomfortable with the arrangement. And I told him as much. To be honest, though, I realize that to a degree, I was complicit. What I also noticed was how I distanced us both (my partner & I) from it.
Since it was his cousin committing the crime, that meant I didn’t hold my partner as responsible. I realize this is how I justified what they were doing (even if in my mind I was still against it).
That went on for several weeks, but then it stopped. Fed up with how much of his plants were being eaten, all of the leaves missing, my partner decided to take action. With his own pellet rifle, he goes after them (I was unaware he had one until that point).
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The Agricultural Aspect
More than being herbivores, iguanas are folivores. This means they eat leaves (in addition to some fruits and flowers). Clearly, one can imagine how having these guys around would negatively impact a farmer’s crops.
Iguanas are a problem for the agricultural sector here. For further insight on how the situation is being addressed (since October 2020), we turn to Christina De Jesús Villanueva. A doctoral student at the University of Rhode Island researching “the study of the lizards and their impact on farming” in Puerto Rico, she shares:
Green iguanas have been in Puerto Rico since at least the 1960s, but their population grew in the 1990s and 2000s, and that got some attention from government agencies. It has the potential for being a big problem for agriculture, but nothing is being done about it. So I’m trying to understand the relationship farmers have with the iguanas.
About half of the farmers De Jesús Villanueva interviewed expressed negative feelings toward the lizards, though many of those who did not have negative feelings had found a way to combat the iguanas or did not have iguanas living nearby.
As for what they eat, De Jesús Villanueva’s research uncovered many crops: squash, papaya, watermelon, lettuce, beans, tomatoes, cucumbers, and passionfruit. Regarding the treatment methods farmers use to keep the iguanas away, she learned that “spreading netting over their fields and spraying their crops with an oil-based pesticide — were not particularly effective.”
She goes on to elaborate:
Fencing the iguanas out was the only method that significantly increased crop yields.” “On a large scale, it could save them a lot of money.”
Ultimately, she hopes her research will provide a boost to the nation’s farmers, for whom she has developed a great appreciation.
“Farmers have been talking about this issue for years, but it’s not getting any attention,” she said. “Food security is more important on an island like Puerto Rico, especially with the hurricanes we’ve seen lately. Food is the base of everything, it connects us all, so this sector needs some attention.”
Still working on her data (at the time of this article), De Jesús Villanueva is expecting to develop the archipelago’s “first assessment of the economic impact that green iguanas are having on agriculture.”
The article summarizes her thoughts on the situation:
It will be useful information that the farmers can use for planning. They can use it to decide whether to grow a particular crop or use a particular management method.
Farmers have been talking about this issue for years, but it’s not getting any attention. Food security is more important on an island like Puerto Rico, especially with the hurricanes we’ve seen lately. Food is the base of everything, it connects us all, so this sector needs some attention.
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An Ecosystem
Neither my partner nor I are farmers. And I’m sure my partner would agree with me on concern over our agricultural sector. Still, the issue here remains how my other half has chosen to deal with the invasive species.
One day, sitting outdoors by the river, during a Spanish session I was giving to a client, we both spotted one of these green beauties walking across the grass. Commenting how gorgeous it was, I confided in her about the dilemma I was having.
Oh, nooooo. He shouldn’t do that. Think about their impact on the ecosystem.
Her comment made me feel embarrassed for not thinking of this part. After talking about the situation, I wanted to learn more about what she said.
These beautiful lizards play a very important role in the ecosystem they live in. Due to their diet, Green iguanas are very important as seed dispersers. They are also a prey species to the local predators and humans. Green iguanas can also indicate changes in the environment because reptiles are more sensitive to environmental changes than humans. So if to watch their responses, people can be warned about possible problems before they become too large.
As with everything, there’s a flip side to this aspect of what’s happening. Here, it’s important to understand green iguanas as an invasive species in Puerto Rico.
In a detailed article from Young Reporters for the Environment, biologist Ramón L. Rivera with the Department of Natural and Environmental Resources provides this picture:
Iguanas prefer areas that have been recently modified, abandoned, and disturbed areas. Disturbed areas have a diversity of vegetation, nesting, hiding places, and it’s more accessible and pleasant for the survival of the species. Grounds where proliferation is exponential like beaches, mangroves, and plains near the coasts.
Making a census on this species is difficult because they can reproduce two times a year. This reptile is capable of making litters of 40 eggs where 90% of it is fertile. It is also capable of stocking sperm for elongated periods of time without the necessity of a male being present for the process of fertilization, causing the species to reproduce and spread massively around the island.
This overproduction is caused by the absence of a predator to prey on the reptile. Just like it is also a species that is not consumed regularly in Puerto Rico like in other parts of America. Ironically, in South America, the iguana is an endangered species due to its consumption. Meanwhile, Puerto Rico’s population quite literally consists of more of these creatures than humans.
These creatures can affect other species creating overlaps in near habitats causing an unbalance in the ecosystems where iguanas fight with other animals for ground, vegetation, and nesting. Smaller animals like coquíes, crabs, neonates of turtles and birds can be prey for young iguanas that are in development and in food experimentation.
A Matter of the Heart
This morning I had a talk with my partner. It was after he mentioned the K-word (it’s one that triggers me, it rhymes with “nil”). Referring to what he had done to a large iguana that had invaded his art space yesterday.
You seem to have forgotten that I’ve asked you on numerous occasions to not share those details with me.
My indignation was clearly revealed as I spoke those words — they hit home with him. He apologized for what he said (because he knows the K-word is painful for me), but I wasn’t certain he understood what I was feeling. Rather than getting into an argument, I let it go and took a shower.
About an hour later, I decided to bring up the subject.
I told him that I was conflicted because I felt he took pleasure in what he was doing. In a serious tone, he looked me straight in the eyes and told me he absolutely “did not.”
I believed him. Still, I told him there has to be “another way” and I’d research it.
We left it at that for the time being. My heart hurts because I know he’s a kind soul. He gives poultry feed to the chickens and hens that roam our neighborhood, and visit his workshop. When a bird or two perches atop the kitchen door, he often leaves small pieces of apple or mango for them. He’s also a cat lover (me, I’m more the canine type!).
In late December 2021, Susi, his feline friend and companion of 16 years took her last breath.
My partner shared with me how during those last couple of hours, he petted her as she quietly sat on his lap. I wasn’t yet living with him, but I had seen how he’d set aside milk for her. I watched as Susi would crawl up to his side as we sat on the sofa. I do not doubt for a second that he loved her.
So where does all of this leave me?
I won’t make excuses for him. Nor will I make them for me. I know I judge him for what he has done and I also know we are each responsible for our actions.
For now, I hold myself accountable to research options for the iguana dilemma and to share the same with my partner.
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This post was previously published on medium.com.
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Photo credit: Karim MANJRA on Unsplash