Getting paid to shoot iguanas would be a dream job.Huge, Hungry Lizards on March from Florida Now Threaten U.S. South, Study Says
The Argentine tegu lizard has joined the Burmese python and green iguana as one of the more successful non-native species to establish itself in Florida.
Monster lizards that prey on native wildlife could begin a jaw-chomping trek north after establishing themselves in parts of Florida, a new study says.
Argentine black and white tegus are thriving in areas of Miami-Dade and Hillsborough counties, and have been spotted in other parts of the state, according to WFTV.
The lizards can reach 4-feet long, wield heavy tails like clubs, then devour their prey with powerful jaws. They eat alligator eggs, birds, insects, fruit — and even have a taste for pet food.
An article in the journal Nature warns that the Tegu lizards could expand into an area from the Carolinas to Central Texas.
“They are voracious, omnivorous predatory lizards that can live in a variety of habitats,†said Lee Fitzgerald, a professor at Texas A&M University and curator of its Biodiversity Research and Teaching Collections.
Fitzgerald says pet lizards often escape or are dumped by owners, and that’s how they set up hot spots in the wild, Reuters reports.
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/florid ... story.html