WEBVTT - Why Is South Florida Overrun with Green Iguanas?

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to brain Stuff, a production of I Heart Radio,

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<v Speaker 1>Hey brain Stuff, Lauren Bogabam. Here, something perhaps even weirder

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<v Speaker 1>than usual is happening in Florida. I grew up there,

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<v Speaker 1>so I can make that joke. In case you hadn't heard.

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<v Speaker 1>Iguanas are all but overrunning the Sunshine State, and we're

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<v Speaker 1>talking about big lizards. They're thriving there because of South

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<v Speaker 1>Florida's subtropical climate and the lack of natural predators, while

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<v Speaker 1>there are lots of non native saurians trudging through the

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<v Speaker 1>area more like the forked tongued denial monitor. The creature

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<v Speaker 1>we're specifically alluding to here is the green iguana, taxonomical

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<v Speaker 1>name Iguana iguana. It ranks among the largest lizards in

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<v Speaker 1>the Western Hemisphere. Adult females can be five feet that's

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<v Speaker 1>one and a half meters in length, while the biggest

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<v Speaker 1>males may reach an impressive seven feet or two meters

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<v Speaker 1>long from nose to tail tip. An average weight is

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<v Speaker 1>around fifteen pounds or four and a half kilos, though

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<v Speaker 1>heavier specimens weighing seventeen pounds or seven and a half

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<v Speaker 1>kilos or more have been documented, and despite its proportions,

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<v Speaker 1>The species has long been a staple in the exotic

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<v Speaker 1>pet trade and unfortunately a victim of abandonment when they

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<v Speaker 1>get too big. That's helped these critters spread far beyond

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<v Speaker 1>their natural range, causing property damage and competition with native wildlife.

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<v Speaker 1>By and large, green iguanas are herbivores. They may eat

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<v Speaker 1>insects or dead meat on occasion, but it's fruits and

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<v Speaker 1>leaves that make up the bulk of their diet. Though too,

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<v Speaker 1>green iguanas vegetation isn't just a food source. This is

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<v Speaker 1>a tree loving animal that, given its druthers, spends most

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<v Speaker 1>of its time basking in forest canopies. Scaling branches comes

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<v Speaker 1>easily to the lizards. With their long fingers and hooked claws.

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<v Speaker 1>These guys are first rate climbers. Of course, you don't

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<v Speaker 1>spend a lifetime in the treetops without taking the occasional spill.

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<v Speaker 1>Green iguanas have been known to withstand fift foot that's

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<v Speaker 1>fifteen meter falls and walk away uninjured. This species is

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<v Speaker 1>also perfectly at home in the water. I'm much like alligators.

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<v Speaker 1>The animals swim by undulating their tails from side to side.

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<v Speaker 1>Frightened iguana might also choose to seek refuge below the

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<v Speaker 1>surface if a predator is lurking about. We are not

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<v Speaker 1>used to thinking of non avian reptiles as sociable, but

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<v Speaker 1>yet the green iguana is somewhat gregarious. Hatchlings are born

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<v Speaker 1>in underground nests, sometimes in the vicinity of crocodilians. Baby

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<v Speaker 1>iguanas stick together, forming social groups with their siblings for

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<v Speaker 1>mutual protection. Such units can last for months, during which

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<v Speaker 1>time the young lizards groom one another and sleep side

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<v Speaker 1>by side or in piles iguana. Iguana is sexually dimorphic,

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<v Speaker 1>with females looking visibly different from their masculine counterparts. Both

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<v Speaker 1>sexes have dew laps, that's folds of loose skin that

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<v Speaker 1>dangle below the neck. These are proportionately larger in males

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<v Speaker 1>and an important communication tool. Come breeding season, a male

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<v Speaker 1>iguana will defend a huge territory and ideally mate with

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<v Speaker 1>a number of females, whom he'll guard for an extended period.

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<v Speaker 1>To scare off rivals, males aggressively bob their heads up

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<v Speaker 1>and down, dew laps flapping all the while. While we're here,

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<v Speaker 1>let's discuss coloration and not all green iguanas are literally

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<v Speaker 1>green They also come in shades of brown, blue, red,

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<v Speaker 1>and gray, and males often turn orange or bronze ish

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<v Speaker 1>when it's time to court potential mates. Today, the green

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<v Speaker 1>iguana remains one of the United states most popular reptilian pets,

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<v Speaker 1>but that doesn't mean they're easy to care for. Sharing

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<v Speaker 1>your life with an iguana can be deeply rewarding, but

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<v Speaker 1>you should know what you're getting into beforehand. Hatchlings will

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<v Speaker 1>be about eight inches that's twenty centimes long, and might

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<v Speaker 1>fare nicely in a tabletop terrarium, but experienced hobbyists recommend

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<v Speaker 1>that adult enclosures measure at least six ft high by

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<v Speaker 1>x feet wide and twelve feet long in meters that's

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<v Speaker 1>about two by two by three and a half. Before

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<v Speaker 1>it was artificially introduced to new environments, the green iguana

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<v Speaker 1>was restricted to Central and South America, along with a

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<v Speaker 1>smattering of islands in the Eastern Pacific and Caribbean. Back

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<v Speaker 1>in at least fifteen of the lizards suddenly appeared on

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<v Speaker 1>a Caribbean island with no pre existing green iguana population.

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<v Speaker 1>The scientists think the reptiles road floating mats of uprooted

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<v Speaker 1>vegetation that drifted out to sea in the wake of

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<v Speaker 1>Hurricanes Luis and Maryland. Presumably the raft bound castaways traveled

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<v Speaker 1>all the way from Guadaloupe, some two hundred miles or

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<v Speaker 1>three kilometers to the south. Unfortunately, when the local climate

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<v Speaker 1>is favorable, iguana iguana can thrive in places where it

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<v Speaker 1>doesn't belong. In nineteen sixty six, the first scientific report

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<v Speaker 1>on invasive iguanas in South Florida was published. It seems

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<v Speaker 1>likely that many individuals reached the Florida and Peninsula by

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<v Speaker 1>going away on boats and in shipping crates. America's booming

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<v Speaker 1>pet industry sure didn't help alone. More than one point

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<v Speaker 1>one four million iguanas were imported into the United States.

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<v Speaker 1>Although it's possible to buy captive bread specimens nowadays, a

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<v Speaker 1>wild cop babies are still being shipped to the US

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<v Speaker 1>and mass It's unclear how many free ranging green iguanas

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<v Speaker 1>are loose in South Florida. More than seven thousand iguana

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<v Speaker 1>sidings have been recorded by the University of Georgia's Early

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<v Speaker 1>Detection and Distribution Mapping system. Since most of those after,

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<v Speaker 1>a large percentage of the lizards now running about the

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<v Speaker 1>state probably descend from escaped or unwanted pets. Ecologists warned

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<v Speaker 1>that the herbivores are devouring important native plants, including a

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<v Speaker 1>coastal vine that the endangered Miami blue butterfly lava feed on.

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<v Speaker 1>Various flowers may also be at risk. A green iguanas

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<v Speaker 1>have been turning private gardens into buffets, and to add

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<v Speaker 1>insult to injury, the Szard's leave feces on patios, boat decks,

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<v Speaker 1>and other surfaces, and metaling iguanas are doing a number

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<v Speaker 1>on Florida's infrastructure too, and just one iguana caused a

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<v Speaker 1>ten minute power outage when it trespassed on a key

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<v Speaker 1>West Electrical facility in two thousand eighteen, and West Palm

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<v Speaker 1>Beach is facing one point eight million dollars in damages

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<v Speaker 1>incurred after tunneling iguanas messed up a local dam. In

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<v Speaker 1>twenty nineteen, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission made

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<v Speaker 1>headlines by encouraging homeowners to humanely kill green iguanas on

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<v Speaker 1>their property whenever possible. One doesn't need a license or

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<v Speaker 1>permit to hunt them on public lands. The several worried

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<v Speaker 1>citizens have also called for Floridians to eat more iguana meat,

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<v Speaker 1>which is a traditional protein in parts of the Caribbean.

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<v Speaker 1>Being cold blooded, iguanas have been unable to establish viable

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<v Speaker 1>populations in northern recesses of the state. Even down south,

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<v Speaker 1>the lizards occasionally fall victim to chili conditions. The animals

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<v Speaker 1>go into paralysis when the thermometer hits forty four degrees

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<v Speaker 1>fahrenheit or six point six celsius, which doesn't happen often

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<v Speaker 1>in South Florida but did in January another cold snap

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<v Speaker 1>in killed off a large part of the iguana population. However,

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<v Speaker 1>once the weather warms again, most adult iguanas can recover

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<v Speaker 1>from this kind of temporary incapacitation. You do will to

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<v Speaker 1>keep your distance. In the meantime, a stirring iguana can

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<v Speaker 1>really bite. Today's episode is based on the article South

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<v Speaker 1>Florida is overrun with green Iguanas on housetuffworks dot com,

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<v Speaker 1>written by Mark Mancini. Brain Stuff is production of iHeart

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<v Speaker 1>Radio in partnership with how stuff works dot Com and

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<v Speaker 1>is produced by Tyler Clang. Four more podcasts from my

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<v Speaker 1>heart Radio visit the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or

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