Extended cold could kill invasive iguanas
Dropping temperatures slow down lizards
Photo credit Bjørn Christian Tørrissen
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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.
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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.
@ur momisugly 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….
@ur momisugly 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.