Extended cold could kill invasive iguanas
Dropping temperatures slow down lizards
Photo credit Bjørn Christian Tørrissen
This file is licensed under the
Creative Commons Official license
With this week’s evening temperatures falling toward the upper 30s, strange fruit may drop from South Florida trees: non-native, invading iguanas that many residents consider more pest than pet.
“It’s a big deal for me,” Jessica Morgan, a Margate homeowner, said as she watched a yard-long, bright orange male iguana roam near her butterfly habitat. The reptile has a slightly smaller green girlfriend.
“They climb up on the bank and will poop on my dock,” she said. “Fingers crossed that this cold snap will kill them. I don’t have the heart to beat one to death. I hope the weather does it for me.
Iguanas become immobilized when the temperature drops into the 40s, as it did Sunday night, said Tiffany Snow, nuisance-wildlife biologist for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. While they usually revive when the temperature rises, they could die if it remains below 40 degrees for three days or so, she said.
It is legal to kill iguanas, but it must be done humanely. Among the options is decapitation. Some local animal control authorities will accept live iguanas that have been trapped, Snow said.
“If somebody is looking to trap them, I guess right now would be a good time because they’re not moving,” she said.
Cold Killing AGW Crusaders
6 01 2010
Extended cold could kill invasive AGW Crusaders
Is it just me or are all species either extinct, endangered, or invasive?
Now if it only had a similar effect on politicians.
Had a five-footer drop out of a ficus here in Wellington at a polo stable this morning. The grooms were planning on eating him. Frost on the windshield but no ice on the water buckets.
let me know when al gore gets frost bite
We have huge problems with iguanas around our place. It’s fun to watch them stiffen up and fall over. They are picking them up like crazy. They kill them when they catch them …
What’s not so cool is the gulf is now 53F in SWFL, below the temperature that does significant kill damage to our fish, especially some of the prize gamefish.
Has anybody looked to see if the AGW hoax is still breathing?
Here in Australia we are advised to place cane toads into a plastic bag and then pop into the freezer to kill them humanely; this is called double-dipping (Freeze them humanely after they have suffocated in the plastic bag!).
This mann caused climate change is worse then we thought.:-p
9 iron
These guys too…
http://i84.photobucket.com/albums/k15/jmwhitmore/Manatees.jpg
Its worse than we thought, its raining Iguana’s…
There is no problem which cannot be solved by a suitable application of
high explosives. — William W. Hughes
Anthony, Global Cooling is also killing the Manatee!
Cold Stress Contributes To Record Number Manatee Deaths (WESH-TV Florida, January 6, 2010)
“biologists documented a record high of 56 cold stress-related deaths in 2009, more than double the five-year average.”
Manatee deaths hit record numbers (Miami Herald, January 6, 2010)
Manatees huddle for warmth (WPTV Florida, January 6, 2010)
Do global warming proponents want the Manatee to die?
The most humane way to kill them would be to put them in the freezer.
It’s pretty devastating to the citrus growers, but could this be a long-term boon? Wht are the chances that along with the iguanas this cold snap will reduce the invasive snake populations. Now THERE is a good example of a man-made problem. Much like the devastation that has been caused by invasive species in the Great Lakes.
deep solar minimum. pray the sunspots fire up again soon. i won’t be able to afford OJ if this cold keeps up.
And just think, if we are successful at reversing global warming, we can look forward to more of this kind of suffering!! AGW believers, is this what you want the future to hold?? I guess this is the type of doom and gloom that can be overlooked.
Guess where most of the manatees are during the winter, especially during exceptionally cold ones like this one? Yup. Lounging around in the warm water outflows of those Eeeevil coal-fired and nuclear power plants around the state.
Let’s hope that this Gore Effect puts quite a sizable dent in the non-indigenous reptile population throughout FL. Unfortunately, the nastiest ones we have around West-Central FL are black & white tegus that have adapted to colder environs and are waiting out the winter underground. 🙁
I love how you’ve attracted an ad for reptile enclosures.
Whoa! This is all wrong folks. Nothing to see here. Move along.
Warmers repeatedly tell us that WARM is a threat to biodiversity! Ergo COLD must be good for biodiversity. Any suggestion that cold is killing critters cannot be true. The iguanas and manatees are not really dead. They are asleep. ☺
Cue the Monty Python “dead parrot’ sketch: ☺
Killing is killing (as opposed to deliberately inflicting unnecessary pain). To refer to one way as “humane” and another way as not, is ridiculous. The only difference is in how much blood and gore is spread around, and that is only relevant to the living who may object to making a mess. It is irrelevant to whatever or whoever was killed. And no, I am not against killing. I’ve done my share of it.
Manatees dying at a record pace | floridatoday.com | FLORIDA TODAY
http://www.floridatoday.com/article/20091212/NEWS01/912120314/Manatees-dying-at-a-record-pace
Ooops. I see that while some comments were in the moderation queue, I went and jumped the gun and let the manatee out of the bag, so to speak. Please pardon my two-stepping on your manatees’ toes, Poptech.
Night of the Iguana…
2010 Version..
This cold snap here in Florida is going to have a significant impact on the price of fresh produce — not only because our local crops are being destroyed but also because the EPA’s turning off the water to the Fresno valley in California. The two major winter food producers are now off line for this winter. Importing food is going to do nothing for our balance of payments deficits, let alone our pocketbooks.
Thanks to the genius of the moderation queue, it now looks as though I’m advocating putting manatees into the freezer in order to humanely destroy them!
Not so. i was referring to humanely killing iguanas by putting them in the freezer.
(Besides which, manatees are really big and need an extra large freezer)
What about the Python population? seems they to would have a hard time.
Pythons and Iguanas- a waste of perfectly good Cowboy boot leather…
They made it through the Little Ice Age. Maybe they didn’t though. Let me check again.
Not being of either religious persuasion (denialist or warmist) the question I have. Does carbon dioxide warm the atmosphere via absorption of Infrared energy radiated away by a heated Earth Surface?
If not, why wouldn’t it? You can see that carbon dioxide will absorb certain frequencies of Infrared in a scanning IR instrument.
If it does absorb the radiated infrared, heat up and then reradiate the energy in all directions (some back to Earth’s surface to replace some of its lost energy warming it some), how much will it warm the surface?
If you did not have water at all and just the current atmosphere what would the effects be on the Earth’s temp? If you doubled carbon dioxide in this scenerio how much would it heat the Earth?
Are the AGW people really totally wrong with their ideas? I think they may be prone to extremes to sell the idea to the Public, but isn’t the foundation still valid?
We are having a super cold spell in the entire Northern Hemisphere, how does AGW explain this?
It’s Climate Change I can believe in!
John A (20:11:44) :
i was referring to humanely killing iguanas
Isn’t it something how animals are so cautious to kill each other in the kindest ways? I especially find it going the extra mile to be certain of painless death when they swallow another animal alive to suffocate, and burn in stomach acids, rather than to shred to death first.
Steve in SC (19:19:33) :
9 iron
—————————————————————-
Is that what Tiger Woods got?
It’s good to be at da top o’ da food-chain.
John A.: Let’s open a “The most humane way to kill them would be”……….. contest.
My entry: Give them a one-way ticket to Al Gore’s place. The Gore Affect will do the rest.
rabidfox (20:03:29) said:
Ahhh, yes. The self inflicted pain we are about experience.
Clive (19:45:57) :
Whoa! This is all wrong folks. Nothing to see here. Move along.
Warmers repeatedly tell us that WARM is a threat to biodiversity! Ergo COLD must be good for biodiversity. Any suggestion that cold is killing critters cannot be true. The iguanas and manatees are not really dead. They are asleep.
———————————————————-
Not so good for humans either.
In the Little Ice Age did humans kill humans in the most humane ways?
Oh No! I won’t have anymore to shoot with my pellet rifle when laying out at the pool. It’s legal and humane as long as its a headshot.
JoePapp (19:58:57) :
Night of the Iguana…
2010 Version..
———————————————————
Wasn’t the 1998 Godzilla in a giant iguana with emotional problems?
Does this include the killer bees and fire ants?\
btw… frost damage on the Florida Citrus crop is nothing new, we just haven’t seen it like this since the 70’s.
Dave F (18:50:15) :
“Is it just me or are all species either extinct, endangered, or invasive?”
I don’t know, which of the above are you?
Last time I saw a cold killing iguana, I was playing Diablo II . . .
OT:
I propose a name for the whistle blower: Sore Throat.
John A (20:11:44) :
(Besides which, manatees are really big and need an extra large freezer)
Or extra small pieces of Manatee. Manatee mince maybe.
I don’t have the heart to beat one to death. I hope the weather does it for me.
I’m going to have real trouble forgetting that statement. Works for Iguanas, Warmers and Politicians.
O/T but always good to keep in mind the intended ‘green bubble’ is bipartisan….
Secretive carbon startup brings Condoleezza Rice and $26m on board
C3 confirms it has raised $26m in funding, sparking speculation over what
the heavy-hitting startup plans to do with money
The company, known as C3, was founded a year ago by Thomas Siebel, the
entrepreneur who sold his business software firm Siebel to Oracle $5.7bn,
and over the past two weeks has filed documents with the Securities and
Exchange Commission (SEC) confirming that it has brought in $26m in funding from undisclosed investors.
Intriguingly, the company has also revealed that it has put together a
heavy-hitting board of directors, including Siebel himself, former Siebel
and Oracle executives Patricia House and Edward Abbo, Jay Dweck, a managing
director at Morgan Stanley, Condoleezza Rice and Spencer Abraham, a former
Republican senator and secretary of energy…
The involvement of Siebel, House, and former Siebel chief technology officer Abbo suggests the company is keen to break into the market for carbon management and reporting software – an increasingly crowded market that is expected to accelerate rapidly when and if the US adopts a national emissions cap-and-trade scheme….
http://www.businessgreen.com/business-green/news/2255650/secretive-carbon-start-brings
Norman (20:29:10) :
CO2 is a trace gas. If you double the concentration, it is still a trace gas. It absorbs certain wavelengths of IR, but since the atmosphere is miles thick, most of the IR in those wavelengths is absorbed almost completely already at the present CO2 concentration.
So increases in CO2 don’t make much difference. The current CO2 concentration is close to thermodynamic saturation already.
The AGW hypothesis is that increased CO2 will cause a slight increase in temperature (nearly unmeasurable). This slightly higher temperature will cause a slight increase in ocean evaporation. Water vapor is a strong absorber of IR — much better than CO2. The increased “green house” water vapor then causes the global warming. The CO2-to-water vapor positive feedback could then cause a run-away warming where more warming causes more warming….
….or so the hypothesis was in the 1980s and 1990s.
Unfortunately for the AGW crowd, this CO2-water vapor positive feedback loop does not seem to actually occur. CO2 concentrations were greater in the remote past with no run-away, and new research and measured temperatures in the last 10 years show no warming despite increased CO2. It may be that any CO2-caused warming mechanism is counteracted by numerous other factors, including increased condensation in clouds, which cool the planet.
Combined with many other influences such as variations in the sun, interactions of the sun with the earth’s magnetic field and cosmic rays (which may seed clouds), natural cycles in the oceans, ocean currents etc., the system becomes complex. No one really understands it enough to put the proper parameters for each effect into a model — since you cannot isolate the effects of so many variables. So they try various weighing factors in the models until they get results that seem to match past climate behavior. Unfortunately, these models do not seem to model future behavior at all well. It is sad that they are being used to direct literally trillions of dollars of the world’s wealth.
At this point, it appears likely that the effects of CO2 increases on world climate are so small they are lost in the noise. Normal weather variations are so large that any CO2-caused variation simply cannot be identified.
In other words, CO2 is basically a non-player.
…eight iron…
John A (20:11:44) :
Oh John, you should have left that one alone.
I was rolling on the floor. The thought of cramming a manatee into my freezer, thinking, not enough room unless I remove the shelves, and all to be humane!!??
Perhaps there is a very good reason why iguanas shouldn’t live in Florida. Gee, I wonder what it is?
FOXNews.com now has this story, including a comment on iguanas.
http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2010/01/06/extreme-weather-mother-nature-gone-bonkers/
ken 67 (20:57:11) : “John A.: Let’s open a “The most humane way to kill them would be”……….. contest.
My entry: Give them a one-way ticket to Al Gore’s place. The Gore Affect will do the rest.”
Ah yes, the old Tribble Gambit:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Trouble_With_Tribbles_(TOS_episode)
Ahh, the silver lining and looking on the bright side, dead critters.
“Fasool Rasmin (19:17:46) :
Here in Australia we are advised to place cane toads into a plastic bag and then pop into the freezer to kill them humanely; this is called double-dipping (Freeze them humanely after they have suffocated in the plastic bag!).”
I thought you guys just swerved your car to bring the tyres inline with the toad?
If they ate Warmists it would be a 2fer. We would have less nuts, and the Iguanas would not be a Threatened Species in a place where they never belonged in the first place.
Ed Murphy (19:47:59) : Wrote
“Manatees dying at a record pace | floridatoday.com | FLORIDA TODAY
http://www.floridatoday.com/article/20091212/NEWS01/912120314/Manatees-dying-at-a-record-pace”
Oh the humanity.
Someone tell the Greenees what we skeptics did, Cause WE DIDN’T LISTEN.
Al Gore said this would happen.
John A (19:34:59) :
The most humane way to kill them would be to put them in the freezer.
Does that make it harder to skin them? And I would hate to have to double-freeze; do it once, thaw, process, then refreeze the bagged-up parts.
I am thinking in humane terms here. The dog doesn’t even like her meat frozen once. Why should she have to suffer?
First the iguanas then the manatees, what’s next, The billion dollar orange crop? Why didn’t I listen, Why didn’t I lesten?
So what’s the recommended way of decapitating an iguana?
Andy
Douglas DC (20:17:32) : What about the Python population? seems they to would have a hard time.
Pythons and Iguanas- a waste of perfectly good Cowboy boot leather…
It ain’t wasted ’till it thaws out unused. Jus’ go boot shopin’ with a gunny sack… 😉
(And yes, I grew up in a very “rural” environment and I’ve had “road kill” for dinner… “You Might Be a Red Neck: If you have EVER had roadkill for dinner, and nobody thought A Thing About it!” Pheasant… venison … “Hey, thet sucka’ broke my grill, he’s gotta PAY for it”… Ah, those were the days. I actually remember a heated discussion between two neighbors about how wrong it was that the game warden told one of them he could not keep the deer without a deer tag… )
So long ago, so far away, and I didn’t know about Merlot then… Would have gone well with the pheasant, too… 😉
My spouse would be appalled if she knew, so nobody tell her, OK? 8-}
Might be a good time to have a python roundup. If they stay in the water it might not be a big deal for them, but they might not like ice build up on the surface.
Any of them in exposed locations should be pretty easy to gather up, sort of like picking up fire wood.
Larry
Around here we have a pine beetle infestation problem in some places.
A few days of -40C weather would take care of that problem.
Glenn (21:16:50) :
Depends on who you listen to I guess. If the AGW crowd is to be believed, then I would be an invasive species. Although, being the realist I am, I would list all species as endangered because we all face the certainty of extinction. Of course, in the timescales significant to human lives, we can say with some certainty that a species is in trouble of meeting its certain doom, but then name me one species that you can say for certain will continue on with perpetuity. So really the philosophical question of specie extinction is not if, but when. Given this we can say, at the very least that all species are either currently extinct (nice to have a status even after existence has left the building), in immediate danger of being extinct (like, say Bald Eagles), or in the process of defeating its adversaries for life-sustaining resources.
This last group includes the so-called invasive species. I do not agree with the terminology because of the negative connotation. Are not ‘invasive’ species simply proof of evolution at work? One species has climate conditions change in a way that favors them, and so they snatch a larger geographical area as their home, and in the process, in my view, stall the inevitable extinction of their species. Of course, this may sound gloomy and such, but it is a scientific certainty that at some point life on Earth will end. Yet this triumph of evolution is termed ‘invasive’ by human observers fretting about the changing environment. Personally, I feel we should start finding out if iguanas and humboldt squid taste good with Tobasco sauce.
What do you think?
Matthew (22:03:29) :
So you really know Python tastes like chicken ??
Grilled, huh. Got a recipe?
Oh, I forgot to add:
Sometimes a species will become overconfident in a territorial grab and grab territory that is only temporarily available. Like this iguana incident. Like the Sahara pump theory, sort of, but with a mass kill event instead of spreading the species.
Parents roam the swamps of Flor Ida, weighing about 7 tons, 30 feet long and walking on their back legs. They ‘re called Iguana Dons and for good reason. So be very careful about bashing the little ones to death. If you must, do it at the house of a friend.
OT:
Monbiot and his little friend to the rescue of AGW by setting up some easy strawman targets to knock down:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/blog/2010/jan/06/cold-snap-climate-sceptics
You pray for warmth and you get hit on the head by a bunch of global warmists with rabies. You pray for cold and you get hit on the head by falling iguanas, while the peaceful manatees, the cows of the sea, freeze to death. It just goes to tell you, if it’s not one thing, it’s another. You can’t win for losing.
hotrod (22:00:24) :
Any of them in exposed locations should be pretty easy to gather up, sort of like picking up fire wood.
So long as they stay frozen until you get them home.
And stay dead of course. Pythons in the armchair, fridge full of squawking Iguanas and a 1200lb Manatee flapping round the kitchen. Welcome to Florida.
Matthew (22:03:29) :
I was kidding. No pythons around here anyway.
(Think your post applied to deer, not python!!)
wayne (22:27:32) :
Matthew (22:03:29) :
So you really know Python tastes like chicken ??
Of the land-based critters, apparently most taste like chicken, while many of the rest taste like beef. Humans though taste like pork, according to those who have resorted to cannibalism to survive. (First heard that on a game show, then elsewhere after that.)
I have been reading how in the UK there are or will be eco-cops who will invade your home to see if you are complying with recycling, energy reduction, and similar eco-fanatic measures, snooping through everything without needing your permission to enter.
I am awaiting reports of those freezing UK pensioners who can’t afford heating, having their finances helped out with gifts of free sausages.
In the Caribbean, they just throw the iguanas live on an open pit fire. They clean them out after they’re fully cooked and tender. Add salt and spices and dinner is ready. They taste like chicken.
Sorry, animal lovers, but not every culture is sensitive to animal cruelty as you call it. Farmers and hunters just don’t care all that much.
They make oil when buried.
photon without a Higgs (20:44:34) :
Steve in SC (19:19:33) :
9 iron
—————————————————————-
Is that what Tiger Woods got?
He got his mashie niblicked for putting out of bounds.
For some more pertinent antique club names, take this quiz.
AndyW (21:59:12) :
So what’s the recommended way of decapitating an iguana?
A sharp blade works well.
And while iguana *does* taste a bit like chicken (especially when slathered in barbecue sauce) python tastes like python, no matter how you cook it — but it’s best when cut into kabob cubes and grilled.
And the ribs make dandy toothpicks…
NO, Not the pythons too. That’s THREE species gone in one season. WHY DIDN’T WE LISTEN?
Michael (23:24:31) :
“NO, Not the pythons too. That’s THREE species gone in one season. WHY DIDN’T WE LISTEN?”
Four, if you count Dave F.
Perhaps there is a very good reason why iguanas shouldn’t live in Florida.
They drive up real estate prices.
Jack in Oregon (19:25:14) :
“Its worse than we thought, its raining Iguana’s…”
I would prefer it were raining Menn…
Dear folks,
I’d like to take this opportunity to respectfully solicit your input for
a proposed peer-review monograph I’m planning titled:
101 Things to Do With A Dead Iguana.
I plan to use the most practical ideas as a basis for the study.
Many thanks in advance.
photon without a Higgs, I like that video. So now we can call Al Gore a witch?
Somewhere there is a PETA person who stopped by here to check on the climate change deniers, and clicked on this article to read about the plight of the helpless iguanas. Then they started reading these comments.
They are now convinced their worst fears have been realized, and we really are just a bunch of cold-hearted sons-of-unwed-mothers. They may also be violently ill, and forcefully expelling their tofu and bean sprouts.
FWIW, dear PETA person, these comments are not meant to be personal, nor are we in the employ of Big Oil, or Big Lizard. These comments are provided free of charge as a public service, in the ongoing quest to inform whomever wanders by of the true nature of reality.
And now that you have been informed about the pitiful iguanas, perhaps you could consider personally going to Florida and aiding in the rescue of these noble reptiles. Holding them close and sharing your body warmth should prove helpful. Oh, and while you’re at it, the gators look a bit chilled as well.
Good luck!
Saw a strange sight today while taking an early morning walk on a snowy common. Five dead wood pigeons lying on the frost crusted snow beneath one of their favourite roosting trees on the edge of the wood.
Cold must have got them, min -8.5 degrees C here last night (16F), with a steady breeze. I’m surprise this happened as I always thought pigeons were tough as old boots – on the bright side, at least my freezers now well stocked with pigeon crowns!
kadaka (22:44:32) :
Of the land-based critters, apparently most taste like chicken, while many of the rest taste like beef. Humans though taste like pork, according to those who have resorted to cannibalism to survive. (First heard that on a game show, then elsewhere after that.)
If you decide to tour New Guinea and your guide starts talking about “long pig” — run.
101 Things to Do With A Dead Iguana?
1. Barbecue it.
2. Bake it.
3. Fricassee it.
4. – 101. Repeat 1. through 3. as necessary.
ScottR (21:20:11) :
Thank you ScottR for taking the time to answer some questions I posted about AGW.
At this time it is hard for me to even imagine Global Warming as I am starting my car in a -18F wind chill and much colder to come in the next couple of days.
RealClimate has that December 2008 was somehow a warm one. I never can see how this is “Real”. They claim the Arctic is 10 degrees above normal. Huh? Then where is all this friggin’ cold air coming from that is 20 degrees below normal? How does it cool as it moves South?
I love science but I do hate any intentional distortion of it for any reason.
I want a Mann blimp to protect me from falling iguanas
“Norman (04:18:30) :
[…]
RealClimate has that December 2008 was somehow a warm one. I never can see how this is “Real”. They claim the Arctic is 10 degrees above normal. Huh? Then where is all this friggin’ cold air coming from that is 20 degrees below normal? How does it cool as it moves South?”
As the arctic air moves southwards, it EXPANDS because the globes circumference gets BIGGER the more you approach the EQUATOR. This means that it DECOMPRESSES and gets COLDER. Because the enrgy per liter air is DECREASING.
This is also why the poles are the hottest place on earth and the equator the coldest.
See stupid! Simple SCIENCE!
“wayne (21:26:22) :
[…]
I was rolling on the floor. The thought of cramming a manatee into my freezer, thinking, not enough room unless I remove the shelves, and all to be humane!!??”
Don’t forget to put it into a plastic bag first.
Those of you picking up pythons and yard-long iguanas like firewood must have awfully big fireplaces, freezers and plastic bags.
Here in Kansas, no iguanas or pythons, but the woodstove is cranked up and the wind chill is somewhere well below 0. At present what little of January we have had is averaging 20 degrees below normal. We might even set a new low temperature record here in the next day or so.
I also note that no one around here has mentioned global warming in the past few weeks!! Wonder why??
No you want to stack the frozen pythons and Iguanas under the front porch to dry out and season a bit before you put them in the fire place. If you do not properly dry them out they are very hard to light, and burn with a sooty flame.
Larry
How do you trap something that’s not moving?
R.S.Brown (00:48:20) :
“Dear folks,
I’d like to take this opportunity to respectfully solicit your input for
a proposed peer-review monograph I’m planning titled:
101 Things to Do With A Dead Iguana.
I plan to use the most practical ideas as a basis for the study.
Many thanks in advance.”
What, and you get all the grant money?
Bill Tuttle (03:28:14) :
“101 Things to Do With A Dead Iguana?
1. Barbecue it.
2. Bake it.
3. Fricassee it.
4. – 101. Repeat 1. through 3. as necessary.”
No, igburgers is way to do them. Just dumpem in the wood chipper, it’s fast and therefore humane.
I heard that some alligators are trapped under the ice in the Tallahassee area of Florida. Greenpeace is going to airlift 5 polar bears from the Hudson bay area of Canada and transport them with Al gores private jet to Florida to help break the ice and free them. My boys used to use fishing poles with fruit as bait, Mangos worked best. Iguanas fight hard use a wire leader. Taste like chicken,don’t let them bite you .
That would be a pity indeed!, Iguanas make me remember one oustanding IPCC leader.
To kill an iguana is an act of barbarity. They are beautiful, gentle creatures that are strictly vegetarian. It should be illegal to kill them, and anyone who does should go to jail.
Rick
in Florida
2SoonOld2LateSmart (22:05:42) :
“Around here we have a pine beetle infestation problem in some places.
A few days of -40C weather would take care of that problem.”
Nature is starting to clean up a few loose ends, the Iguanas, Pythons, other non-native life forms; are we next?
What bothers them much more: This unconvenient cold has frozen their Kool-aids
Rick (07:42:19) :
To kill an iguana is an act of barbarity. They are beautiful, gentle creatures that are strictly vegetarian. It should be illegal to kill them, and anyone who does should go to jail.
From the dreaded Wikipedia:
The Moche people of ancient Peru worshipped animals and often depicted Green iguanas in their art.[38] The Green iguana and its relative the Black iguana (Ctenosaura similis) have been used as a food source in Central and South America for the past 7000 years.[4] It is possible that some of the populations in the Caribbean were translocated there from the mainland by various tribes as a food source.[4] In Central and South America, Green iguanas are still used as a source of meat and are often referred to as gallina de palo, “bamboo chicken” or “chicken of the tree,”[6] because they are said to taste like chicken.[39]
Gee Rick, looks like you have a real crusade on your hands. You could try getting the iguanas protected with the old Organization of American States, but for something on this scale perhaps you should go straight to the UN. Don’t forget to explain to them how Climate Change will decimate the iguanas’ habitats thus they need protection from the starving Climate Change refugees. The UN loves that sort of talk. After you are done there then the International Criminal Court can be contacted. Might as well, they need the work.
Good Luck!
Please note that everything goes well with Tabasco sauce. Try for a 30-minute buzz (burn?) to define the correct heat. That way it doesn’t matter if it tastes like chicken, beef or pork.
Rick (07:42:19) :
To kill an iguana is an act of barbarity. They are beautiful, gentle creatures that are strictly vegetarian. It should be illegal to kill them, and anyone who does should go to jail.
I’ve often wondered who gets to make the rules on what is barbaric and what isn’t. I’d rather kill a lizard than shave.
Tim Clark (10:17:40) :
I’ve often wondered who gets to make the rules on what is barbaric and what isn’t. I’d rather kill a lizard than shave.
Thus I have found Survivor to be completely unrealistic. The contestants are starving, losing weight fast and dropping from weakness, while the local animals freely roam around generally unmolested.
What’s so wrong with finding out what fire-roasted Komodo Dragon tastes like? These people are starving!
Glenn (21:16:50), I like the way you think.
Obviously, even the non-agw crowd has blood lust. Killing should never be made in fun, imo. We have an ecosystem on earth that depends on the diversity of life and one would think that the supposed ‘most intelligent’ species would have a handle on that fact, but sadly, humans are really F’d up creatures.
Hunting is NOT a sport, nor is killing supposed to be fun. There are plenty of humans that deserve to die for their acts of treachery, yet are protected because they are human.
I like PETA and believe it is a good organization at the core… of course, there are extremists. Yet, why do Humans believe all other creatures/beings on this planet are just ‘animals’ and should be used however humans wish? It is truly insane and I often wonder, and can visualize the ‘necks’ begging for their mercy at the feet of an invading alien race (that happens to like the taste of ignorant humans) while the dear head looms overhead… what a nice thought, try it out.
I love the diversity of life on this planet, and all beings, even ones we eat, should have a better life than the one FEED LOTS give them… regardless of what the godless popular religions of today say, humans aren’t above the other species of life.
Again, I do eat meat, but I get it locally and know what the farmers feed them, how they graze, and how few are sacrificed on a given day.. not lined up, stunned, have their legs fastened to chains, have their throats slit as they are pulled upside down, etc…. that is just sick shite, man… sick
Next time you SUPERSIZE that disgusting meal, then waste half of it, remember it was once another species of life on this planet, not too different, categorically, from humans. Seems real value of this planet is very far from most people’s minds.
As far as the iguana, just send it back to S.A. and send al gore the bill… after all, he is only in on agw for the benevolence and not the profit.
Of course, I meant DEER, not the dear, poor old soul begging…
If you must kill the iguana, than just chop its head off then eat the thing.. don’t waste it.
@ KDK (11:57:19) :
You are of course entitled to your opinion, but the fact remains that hunting is very much a sport. Indeed, there are many sports in the Olympics that come straight from the skills involved in hunting.
Certainly PETA is a lovable decent organization at the core, with some extremists. Currently we are watching the believers of CAGW, who are generally lovable decent people at their core, with some extremists. Why, Hezbollah is a major provider of social services in Lebanon, lovable decent people at the core doing hard work to help the people, with some extremists. What can be wrong with that?
I applaud your efforts to be more connected with the sources of your meats. Indeed, my parents and their parents were well aware of that proper relationship, of how to raise an animal from birth, lovingly take care of it as they would a family pet, then kill it, butcher it, and eat it. Now in our modern age, lacking the time and space to raise our own meat, it is preferred to purchase anonymous meat wrapped in plastic at the store, raised in bulk and processed in bulk with industrial efficiency. With such a horrendous disconnect, it leads vulnerable people to imagine strange things, that perhaps these animals are rather like people, like themselves, and perhaps deserve to be treated perhaps as well as humans. Which is quite understandable. I mean, just look at all the pictures on the internet of smiling cats and dogs!
Glenn (21:16:50) :
Dave F (18:50:15) :
“Is it just me or are all species either extinct, endangered, or invasive?”
I don’t know, which of the above are you?
Reply:
Thats easy INVASIVE and I want to invade Fort Knox but I would probably get shot….
@ KDK (11:57:19) :
If you care to take a glance at what happens in the “beautiful, peaceful” nature which you dream of, you will find hyenas eating wildebeeste young as they emerge from their dam’s body: you will see lions eating the liver and intestines of a buffalo whilst it is still alive: you will see vultures eating the eyes of still-living but dying elephant.
Please get used to the fact that Nature really is “red in tooth and claw”, it’s how the natural world is. It’s called survival.
My wife gets credit suggesting two practical uses for dead
iguanas:
1. For larger ones, arch their backs, then stick the tail into
the ground and then snout and use them for croquette hoops.
2. For smaller ones just stick in tail first to use them as
out-of-bound markers.
101 Things To Do With A Dead Iguana
101 Things to Do With A Dead Iguana?
In the crockpot with a can of beer and a can of tomatoes.
“Tastes like squirrel.”
This cold snap answers the question “Which would you prefer, warmer or colder”, in case anyone hadn’t figure it out. As I recall, there is a Manatee kill almost everey year, but this one is likely much worse.
1. They make great door stops. Simply dip the Iguana in clear acrylic casting resin and shape with the tail flat against the floor, allow to dry. Then insert tail under door and position to your needs. They are after all sustainable door stops, as there is a never ending supply readily at hand every winter.
2. They make great hiding places for web cameras to monitor the baby sitter. Place the iguana in an inaccessible location where the open mouth is pointed at the baby’s crib, insert small web camera. With their renowned ability to climb almost anything and perch in the most unusual places they will hardly be noticed.
3. They make great fetch toys for you dog.
Larry
Glenn (23:50:28) :
No, not yet. Sure to be someday. I’ll be invasive until I am extinct.
KDK (11:57:19) :
We have an ecosystem on earth that depends on the diversity of life and one would think that the supposed ‘most intelligent’ species would have a handle on that fact, but sadly, humans are really F’d up creatures.
That diversity only evolved so that one predator wouldn’t eat *everything* on earth. And the diversity remains intact so long as predators eat enough of one life form to allow the additional life forms to find food that *they* can eat. Herbivores are predators, too, BTW — they just eat things that can’t run away.
I like PETA and believe it is a good organization at the core…
PETA is an abominable group. No other organization kills as many animals as PETA does under the pretense of “rescuing” them.
@KDK (11:57:19)
The meat you eat comes all cut up, wrapped in plastic, ready to eat, with no taste and no guilt. As an avid hunter, the act of harvesting an animal for my family’s table provides me a powerful connection to the natural world around me. It is an “honest” way to acquire meat for our consumption.
Do you know what the most dangerous animal in NA is? The whitetailed deer, which causes hundreds of vehicular fatalities each year. Imagine what might happen if the herd was not managed through hunting.
slightly OT but a very good friend of mine from Houston Tx, sent me this ditty related to the conversation a US landowner had with the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Quality, PA. It shows the incredulity we face in dealing with officials of state who can’t see the nose in front of their eyes.
“SUBJECT: DEQ File No.97-59-0023; T11N; R10W, Sec. 20; Lycoming County
Dear Mr. DeVries:
It has come to the attention of the Department of Environmental Quality that there has been recent unauthorized activity on the above referenced parcel of property. You have been certified as the legal landowner and/or contractor who did the following unauthorized activity:
Construction and maintenance of two wood debris dams across the outlet stream of Spring Pond.
A permit must be issued prior to the start of this type of activity. A review of the Department’s files shows that no permits have been issued. Therefore, the Department has determined that this activity is in violation of Part 301, Inland Lakes and Streams, of the Natural Resource and Environmental Protection Act, Act 451 of the Public Acts of 1994, being sections 324.30101 to 324.30113 of the Pennsylvania Compiled Laws, annotated.
The Department has been informed that one or both of the dams partially failed during a recent rain event, causing debris and flooding at downstream locations. We find that dams of this nature are inherently hazardous and cannot be permitted. The Department therefore orders you to cease and desist all activities at this location, and to restore the stream to a free-flow condition by removing all wood and brush forming the dams from the stream channel. All restoration work shall be completed no later than January 31, 2010.
Please notify this office when the restoration has been completed so that a follow-up site inspection may be scheduled by our staff. Failure to comply with this request or any further unauthorized activity on the site may result in this case being referred for elevated enforcement action. We anticipate and would appreciate your full cooperation in this matter. Please feel free to contact me at this office if you have any questions.
Sincerely,
David L. Price
District Representative and Water Management Division.
Here is the actual response sent back by Mr. DeVries:
Re: DEQ File No. 97-59-0023; T11N; R10W, Sec. 20; Lycoming County
Dear Mr.. Price,
Your certified letter dated 08/17/09 has been handed to me to respond to. I am the legal landowner but not the Contractor at 2088 Dagget Lane , Trout Run, Pennsylvania .
A couple of beavers are in the (State unauthorized) process of constructing and maintaining two wood “debris” dams across the outlet stream of my Spring Pond. While I did not pay for, authorize, nor supervise their dam project, I think they would be highly offended that you call their skillful use of natures building materials “debris.”
I would like to challenge your department to attempt to emulate their dam project any time and/or any place you choose. I believe I can safely state there is no way you could ever match their dam skills, their dam resourcefulness, their dam ingenuity, their dam persistence, their dam determination and/or their dam work ethic..
These are the beavers/contractors you are seeking. As to your request, I do not think the beavers are aware that they must first fill out a dam permit prior to the start of this type of dam activity.
My first dam question to you is:
(1) Are you trying to discriminate against my Spring Pond Beavers, or
(2) do you require all beavers throughout this State to conform to said dam request?
If you are not discriminating against these particular beavers, through the Freedom of Information Act, I request completed copies of all those other applicable beaver dam permits that have been issued.
(Perhaps we will see if there really is a dam violation of Part 301, Inland Lakes and Streams, of the Natural Resource and Environmental Protection Act, Act 451 of the Public Acts of 1994, being sections 324.30101 to 324.30113 of the Pennsylvania Compiled Laws, annotated.)
I have several concerns. My first concern is, aren’t the beavers entitled to legal representation? The Spring Pond Beavers are financially destitute and are unable to pay for said representation — so the State will have to provide them with a dam lawyer. The Department’s dam concern that either one or both of the dams failed during a recent rain event, causing flooding, is proof that this is a natural occurrence, which the Department is required to protect. In other words, we should leave the Spring Pond Beavers alone rather than harassing them and calling them dam names.
If you want the stream “restored” to a dam free-flow condition please contact the beavers — but if you are going to arrest them, they obviously did not pay any attention to your dam letter, they being unable to read English.
In my humble opinion, the Spring Pond Beavers have a right to build their unauthorized dams as long as the sky is blue, the grass is green and water flows downstream. They have more dam rights than I do to live and enjoy Spring Pond. If the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Protection lives up to its name, it should protect the natural resources (Beavers) and the environment (Beavers’ Dams).
So, as far as the beavers and I are concerned, this dam case can be referred for more elevated enforcement action right now. Why wait until 1/31/2010? The Spring Pond Beavers may be under the dam ice then and there will be no way for you or your dam staff to contact/harass them.
In conclusion, I would like to bring to your attention to a real environmental quality, health, problem in the area. It is the bears! Bears are actually defecating in our woods. I definitely believe you should be persecuting the defecating bears and leave the beavers alone. If you are going to investigate the beaver dam, watch your step! The bears are not careful where they dump!
Being unable to comply with your dam request, and being unable to contact you on your dam answering machine, I am sending this response to your dam office.
THANK YOU,
RYAN DEVRIES
& THE DAM BEAVERS
i advise using and old sand wedge. A Titleist Vokey sand wedge with a large flange ( good bounce) will do just fine. When you see the frozen Iguanas lying there helpless just pop them in the head with your best stroke. Be sure to open your stance and have your weight on your front foot as in a good bunker shot. This will assure the head shot kill and also improve your bunker technique.
I have personally KILLED over 200 Iguanas over 1 year. I live near a train tressle over a canal near the ICWW and they have nearly destablized 20% of the foundation. These animals have no natural predators and are ruining the gene pools of indeginous birds, gators and reptiles by eating their eggs and also eat SEA TURTLE EGGS!!!!
I hate them in the FLORIDA wild but they are cool as pets when neutered or spayed. When given the chance I will take out my GAMO silenced .22 air rifle and punch a hole the size of a quater in the backside of the ones I hit. They die within minutes as the pellets I use flaten out and cut them up inside real BAD!
Yes I hate them, I am a licensed hunter and fisherman in the state and am an avid conservationist. I have caught hundreds of snook and never eaten one if that is any insight. I will continue to bust fat caps in IGUANAS and plan to take it up for the state for FREE and if you love the state you live in you would take the duty of doing it to.