mobile siteHope Estates
The Hope Estates, opened in 1961, comprises both the Royal Botanic Gardens and the Hope Zoo, covering 93 hectares (230 acres) of land.
Did you know that there is an orchid house on the grounds and there are plans to create a jogging trail?
The Jamaican Iguana (cyclura collei) is on the world endangered species list as the
adult population is thought to be below 200. It was once thought to have been common in Jamaica around the seventeenth century, around drier parts of the south coast. However, its numbers declined dramatically in the latter part of the nineteenth century, following the introduction of the Indian mongoose, which kills and eats juveniles and their eggs. By 1948 the Jamaican Iguana was considered extinct. Once found throughout Jamaica and on Goat island, it is now confined to the forests of the Hellshire hills.