It’s raining iguanas in Florida - January 07, 2008
After last year’s story about heat-waves causing bats to drop out of trees, another form of extreme weather is also leading to animals doing good leaf-in-autumn impressions. A cold snap in Florida is causing iguanas to fall out of their arboreal homes.
Robert Yero, park manager at Bill Baggs Cape Florida State Park, told the Miami Herald the lizards lapse into suspended animation when they get too cold. Putting them in the sun for a bit brings them back to life provided they’re not too far gone.
AFP says the iguanas thrive at 35 C but last week temperatures hit just 4 or 5 C. “When the temperature falls below about 60 F (15 C) they become less able to move around. At temperatures below about 40 F (5 C) they become completely immobile and begin to suffer serious stress,” Perran Ross, of the University of Florida, told AFP.
Last week temperatures hit that 5 C mark.
This is not bad thing for Florida’s wildlife though, Kenneth Krysko, of the Florida Museum of Natural History, told AP. “It is a good thing. They're not native, and they're considered a nuisance.”
Especially when they’re falling on your head, one assumes.
Image: iguana in Florida / photo taken by Ianare (via WikiMedia)
