Could a snake eat a banana? Once upon a time the keepers at Quetzaltenango’s Minerva Zoo had little to lose by experimenting. A vegetarian snake, had they produced one, would have been worth its weight in platinum. Of course they failed, but their live-and-let-die policy continued: they lived it up while the animals died. The place had become, in a word, a zoo. But one day Lucy Guzmán crashed the party.

If Popeye wanted a cheap live-in role model for Sweat Pea, he might consider the iguana, which gobbles not only spinach but collards, mustard greens and endive. They also relish papaya and zapote. The down side is that some iguanas — like some babies — are fortuitous predators that will chomp any bug that gets too close. Popeye’s iguana likely came from the world’s Iguana Central: El Salvador, where they are called garrobos. The grandmother of all iguana nurseries is in that tiny republic, whose emerald complexion matches that of the garrobo. Given that camouflage is the garrobos’ principal defense, they perhaps feel at home there. The nursery is actually an archipelago of hidden farms that, among Salvadoreños, are only rumored to exist. They have no address, much less a visiting center, petting zoo and snack bar serving garroboburguesas. In fact, they are high-security lockouts that you cannot visit even with an appointment. There are walls and fences and rifle-toters doubling as nursery wardens.

Sadly, the mama rejected the cubs and, in so doing, slightly injured Guicho. The cubs, born in July, are now being raised by zoo staff and appear to be doing quite well. Because of the rejection the lions must be fed enormous quantities of very expensive milk. To offset this cost, the zoo is taking photos of visitors with the cubs for Q15 per photo. (Larger donations and corporate sponsorships and adoptions are needed as well. Call the zoo at 472-3934 or check out www.laurorazoo.centroamerica.com.)