black spiny-tailed iguana

Tikal is near the border between Guatemala and Belize, so after a three-hour journey we arrived at Chaa Creek forest reserve, where the first creatures we saw were these iguanas.

Also known as ctenosaura, this is claimed to be the fastest-running lizard, although the ones we saw were about as slow as tortoises.

It is native to Central America, but has been introduced to the Boca Grande area of Florida where we saw lots in 2003 and since then the population has exploded as there are no natural predators, causing significant health concerns.