Frozen iguanas falling from trees during cold snap in Florida

[groundloop]

Source: CBS News

MIAMI BEACH, Fla. -- It's so cold in Florida that iguanas are falling from their perches in suburban trees. Temperatures dipped below 40 degrees Fahrenheit early Thursday in parts of South Florida, according to the National Weather Service in Miami.

The cold-blooded creatures native to Central and South America start to get sluggish when temperatures fall below 50 degrees Fahrenheit, Sommers said. If temperatures drop below that, iguanas freeze up.

They're not the only reptiles stunned by this week's cold snap: Sea turtles also stiffen up when temperatures fall. The wildlife commission's biologists have been rescuing cold-stunned sea turtles found floating listlessly on the water or near shore, but no such rescue effort is planned for iguanas.

Green iguanas are an invasive species in Florida known for eating through landscaping and digging burrows that undermine infrastructure. They can grow to over 5 feet long, and their droppings can be a potential source of salmonella bacteria, which causes intestinal illness.





Read more: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/frozen-iguanas-falling-from-trees-during-cold-snap-in-florida/

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Note: While this article may not seem to be of national importance, I posted this because some may find it interesting that the weather is aiding the capture of this invasive species.

[underpants]

1. Ya gotta have a plan

[Scurrilous]

2. Those things are everywhere.

Big yellow and brown ones...smaller green ones. Between them and the pythons, it's a regular reptile freak show in Miami.

[RandiFan1290]

3. I saw one today in Lake Worth

He fell from the tree and into the road.

Here is a video I caught of 2 large boys trying to impress the female by the water. This was in an apartment complex in West Palm Beach.

[irisblue]

12. Thank you for holding your phone the correct way!

And what ever gets you a date I guess.😁

[Codeine]

4. Maybe it will take out some of the Burmese pythons

as well. At least something good can come of this cold snap.

[Xipe Totec]

5. Anthony Bourdain - Iguana Tamales

[Rollo]

14. Sounds disgusting, although...

They probably just didn't cook it right...

[Doodley]

6. Unpredictable extreme weather and mass extinctions as predicted by climatologists.

[William Seger]

8. I'm predicting the same thing for Republicans in 2018

... frozen Republicans falling from trees during cold snap in November.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

7. Best headline of the day for DU. NT

[mitch96]

9. Reminds me of the good samaritan who tried to help the cold stuned iguanas

I believe this was on the news down here in So Fla..
So this guy starts picking up the stiff iguanas and putting them in his car. He was going to take them to an animal shelter or something like that......
Yup, you guessed it.. The bunch of iguanas in the car warmed up, woke up and went bat shit crazy!

I just shows to go ya... no good deed goes un punished..

http://www.wpxi.com/news/trending-now/iguanas-coldstunned-but-probably-not-dead/676250146

"Be forewarned that a cold-paralyzed iguana, or a knight anole as seen in the photo above, can become active again when temperatures begin to warm. That means it’s probably not a good idea to bring them inside."

[Rollo]

10. In most places, it can rain cats and dogs. In Florida, it's iguanas and pythons...

.

[SergeStorms]

18. And Gambian Rats......

....and black and White Tegu lizards (that can reach 5' long!), and about a dozen or so other invasive species. The State is over-run with them. Miami is the largest animal importation city in the United States, and they don't all get where they're supposed to go. Not to mention people who grow tired of the "pets" and just set them free.

[Fred Sanders]

11. How come Walking Dead folks don't just go north and wait out a deep freeze like this? Done!

[Rollo]

13. Ummm. Because zombies are FAKE...???

[xor]

21. Then explain Trump!

[Rollo]

25. Trump isn't dead, yet.

[dembotoz]

15. next on syfy channel.....Iguanado

[Botany]

16. Good

I hope it kills 'em all.

"Green iguanas are an invasive species ... "

[IthinkThereforeIAM]

19. That is why I have been sharing this...

... easy solution to the invasive species problem.

[link:http://www.geniuskitchen.com/recipe/iguana-451478|

[SergeStorms]

17. This happens every time they get a cold snap in Florida.

The reporters always make it sound like it's a sure sign of the apocalypse. It's not the first time it's happened, and it won't be the last.

[tavernier]

20. They are a real nuisance here in the Keys.

Destructive and messy. Our Montessori school had to call in exterminator because they were up in the trees, shitting all over the kid’s playground, and the feces carries disease. We hope for major cold spell to kill off some of their numbers, but once it gets cold enough to really freeze them, we get a major fish kill. And otherwise they are just temporarily stunned. Our Mexican friends catch them to grill, swear they are good, but as yet there are no iguana steaks in local restaurant.

[Brother Buzz]

22. I've heard of this happening in the past, but I mostly chalked it up to urban myth

[Baclava]

23. Only the weak ones

[Brother Buzz]

24. There were times, many years ago, that I wish we could 'chill' kids like that

[DeminPennswoods]

26. This was actually mentioned during

the Pittsburgh-NY Islanders hockey game telecast last night.

[pansypoo53219]

27. need to start eating them along w/ that snake.

[jmowreader]

29. Lionfish and Oscars too

[Demtexan]

28. They seem to be like the wild pigs in Texas.

Doing damage everywhere.

I knows someone who traps wild pigs for a living.

Good to eat.

Are the iquanas being trapped.

I saw a show about the snakes being hunted.