State’s rare freeze gives residents and visitors green light to collect stunned invasive iguanas
Florida’s rare extreme freeze is providing a “unique opportunity” for citizens or visitors to help remove a pesky invader from the Sunshine State, its wildlife agency said.
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) issued an executive order Friday allowing people “to remove live, cold-stunned green iguanas from the wild without a permit.”
Under the provisions of the order, anyone can bring the cold-stunned iguanas to five designated FWC offices on Sunday and Monday, “no permit required, to be humanely killed or, in some cases, transferred to permittees for live animal sales.”
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Iguanas are an invasive species in Florida that can, according to the FWC, “cause damage to residential and commercial landscape vegetation and are often considered a nuisance by property owners.”
However, when temperatures dip into the 40s or below, these cold-blooded reptiles lose the ability to move their muscles — they’ve been known to fall from trees, appearing dead. Yet they’re very much alive, just in a state of paralysis, or torpor.
South Florida was forecast to have its coldest temperatures since 2010 on Sunday morning, according to Fox Weather.
“When collecting live, cold-stunned green iguanas for removal, members of the public should wear protective gloves, pants and long-sleeved shirts to protect themselves from potential scratches,” the FWC said in a news release announcing its executive order.
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“The iguanas must be contained in a secure, escape-proof, cloth sack or bag. Only cloth sacks or bags may be used for primary containment to ensure breathability — and they must be securely closed shut.”
These bags should then be placed “into a second secure, locked transport container” that is labeled “Prohibited Reptiles,” according to the FWC.
Residents were urged to transport captured iguanas to the FWC “immediately to limit the likelihood of the iguanas regaining their ability to move freely.”
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“Once transport has begun, collection bags or sacks must remain closed or sealed until they are transferred to FWC staff,” the FWC said.
“This is to both keep the iguanas from escaping into a new location and to prevent the iguanas from getting loose in your vehicle if they start to recover from torpor.”
Iguanas were first reported in South Florida in the 1960s and have thrived in the state’s warm climate, according to the FWC.
They also “breed like rabbits” and threaten native wildlife and plants, said Darcie Arahill, a Florida-based angler and content creator of Darcizzle Offshore YouTube videos that teach the art of fishing.
Arahill previously told Fox News Digital that she uses a bow and arrow to hunt and kill them, which is permitted in Florida. She’s harvested them and posted YouTube videos about how to cook them.
She said the tail is the “best part,” but the bigger the lizard, the more meat there is on the legs.
She likes to boil iguana meat in water with potatoes and carrots, almost like a stew, “to the point where the meat just falls off the bone.”
The FWC cautioned the public that anyone encountering a cold-stunned iguana “should never bring it into your home or building to warm up, and never put it into your vehicle unless specifically transporting [it] to the FWC” under the executive order.
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“Iguanas can recover from cold-stunning more quickly than you might expect and, once recovered, can act defensively, with long tails that whip and sharp teeth and claws,” the FWC said.
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