It rains iguanas at Bill Baggs park

[VARNYARD]

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By TIM CHAPMAN
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TIM CHAPMAN/MIAMI HERALD STAFF
This iguana lies belly up Thursday under a buttonwood tree in Bill Baggs Cape Florida State Park. The extreme cold weather in South Florida had an effect on most of the cold-blooded reptiles living at the park, some came back to life as the sun warmed. Others weren't so lucky.
Ã?Æ?Ã?â??Ã?¢ââ??¬Ã?¡Ã?Æ?ââ?¬Å¡Ã?â??Ã?» More Photos Wednesday night's bitter cold came like a giant Sominex for the tree-dwelling iguanas of South Florida.

When the temperature falls below a certain level, the large green lizards drop out of the trees and litter the ground.

They aren't dead. At least a lot of them aren't. It is as if they are in suspended animation, said Robert Yero, park manager at Bill Baggs Cape Florida State Park on Key Biscayne.

It was raining iguanas at Bill Baggs Thursday morning. There were a couple underneath buttonwood trees and a third beneath a sea grape. All were about 30 yards from the beach, in the coastal hammock.

''We have found dozens on the bike path after a major cold snap,'' said Yero. ``When they warm up in the sun, they come back to life.''

Yero isn't too fond of the comatose critters. They are exotics from Central and South America, brought in as pets and then released to the wilds by their owners when they got too big for the house.

They munch on the foliage, literally nipping in the bud efforts to revive native vegetation.

''They really are taking over,'' Yero said.

 

[AB^]

It will be interesting to see how the iguanas adapt through the next several decades to the weather extremes theya re not desinged for.

If you read about Podarcis sicula in new york, they would not be able to survive temps below 45 degrees but manage to handle the harshness of NY winters by finding hibernicula underground below the freezing line.

As they said in jurassic park "Life will find a way"

 

[Swtbrat]

Awwwwww what a sad picture on that site.


Brat!

 

[ColdThirst]

thats cool, iguanas everywhere!!

 

[dorton]

I read that yeasterday, even if they are an introduced species, I still would hate to see them all dropping like that. I just don't see them in the same light as cane toads or feral cats in OZ.

 

[VARNYARD]

I agree dorton, they are not the same. Also they have lived in Florida since the 50s, they are now a common species in south Florida.

 

[DZLife]

I agree with dorton; even if they are an introduced species, that doesn't mean that they aren't still living creatures, and if they ARE negatively affecting the local ecosystem, they should be relocated, not ignored and left for dead. Wait, that's not exactly what this is about, but I felt like ranting.