Thousands of ‘frozen’ iguanas rounded up after falling from trees
- Thousands of cold-stunned iguanas have been rounded up in Florida after falling from trees during a cold snap.
- The cold-blooded reptiles, an invasive species that was introduced to the state in the 1960s, become stunned and immobile when temperatures get too low, causing them to rain down from trees.
- Blake Wilkins, a trapper for Redline Iguana Removal, said they collected 2,500 iguanas in two days. He said he’d never seen anything like it in his years of trapping.
- Wildlife experts warned against trying to “save” the iguanas, which can weigh 10 pounds, and it’s important to keep pets away from them.
- “Iguanas can recover from torpor quickly,” Shannon Knowles from the Florida Wish and Wildlife Conservation Commission told National Geographic. “Wild iguanas can be defensive when not able to escape, sometimes using their sharp teeth and nails, and long tails that whip.”
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