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For those worried about the following images, be reassured that there is no danger to people or pets posed by native Cayman snakes. Since these are the only photos known of this event, we wonder if the snake was actually successful in swallowing the iguana. It appears to be a pretty ambitious meal! Since these photos are being circulated by email, to calm the alarm in some quarters, here is a response from Dr. Mat DaCosta-Cottam, Senior Research Officer at the Cayman Islands Department of the Environment:
"These pictures show a (local) Cayman Racer snake (Alsophis cantherigerus caymanus) eating an (invasive) Green Iguana (Iguana iguana).
The Racer is endemic to the Cayman Islands, and is found no-where else in the world, in fact, unique subspecies of the Racer are present on each of the three islands.
Adults can reach a length of 4-5ft an look quite formidable. The one pictured looks to be as large as any I have seen - maybe larger. Racers are to be found throughout the islands, however, we usually see them much smaller than this, maybe 2ft in length. Many are killed by cats and dogs, and run over when they are still young, so very few survive to reach this large size.
Racers can flatten their heads as a defense response, and this sometimes leads to their being confused for cobras.
The good news is that they are non-venomous, and pose no threat to people what-so-ever."
(sorry about image quality - shots were taken with a cell phone)
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