Iguanas in Florida have “started dropping out of trees” due to the cold water, with people going viral as they go around and scoop them up.
When animals are viewed as pests to the public, local officials generally have to act in a big way. They’ll pay for increased deterrents – be it traps for mice and rats, or pesticides for bugs – and hope that things start to settle down.
That’s been the case in Florida for a number of years. With an increased number of iguanas on the prowl, officials in Dade County – well, Miami – had been considering offering bounties for people to move the reptiles off the streets and away from the public.
However, it appears as if the changing weather has done the proposed job for them, with people reporting that iguanas have “started dropping out of trees” and are “frozen” due to the drop in temperature.
Floridians are picking up tonnes of frozen iguanas
On February 2, TikToker RyanIzFishing – who specialises in wildlife content – noted that he picked up 68 iguanas due to the “ice cold” temperatures in South Florida.
“This morning alone, I myself saw 50 iguanas on the ground, waiting to be picked up,” Zoo Miami Communications Director Ron Magill told CNN.
“A lot of those iguanas are going to survive. People think they’re dead, but they’re not dead. They go into a torpid state.”
Plenty of viewers on Ryan’s video urged him to “take care” of the animals, but many others noted how “invasive” they are to Florida’s wildlife. “This is so sad and depressing,” one said.
“I am so sick of seeing people collecting them only for them to be euthanized. I understand they are invasive but we can’t keep destroying them we choose to live in their home,” another added. “For this guy to have collected this many, you have to know they are a problem for South Florida,” commented another.
Magill noted that the majority of iguanas being picked up are likely to be “euthanized’ because of how “invasive” they are. “I think iguanas have become a really big problem here. We have Disney World here in Florida, but these animals are not living the Disney life,” he said.
