in good news regarding the intense cold snap in the south: it has allowed people to collect and dispatch hundreds and hundreds of invasive iguanas in Florida after they became cold stunned and fell from trees. some are being eaten. some are being used as fertilizer. some are going to be used in lizard skin accessories. there are some animal rights weirdos who are not happy about this and are completely unable to comprehend the incredible damage iguanas have done to Florida’s ecosystems and the threat they post to native species but I am very happy for all iguana hunters out there. being killed while they are already stunned and then being used to nourish other beings is a fairly painless and honorable fate for invasive iguanas.
another interesting fact: many (most? all? idk, there is a lot of biodiversity) of Florida’s native reptiles go into a state of brumation in cold weather, the American alligator survives by instinctively sticking it’s nose out of the water like a snorkel when it begins to freeze
(these photos were taken in Texas during the freeze several years ago)
the fact that invasive iguanas become cold stunned and immobilized and abruptly drop to the ground during cold snaps is evidence that they do not belong in this climate and though they are surviving and reproducing, they are not thriving. I wish people would recognize that about invasive animals, being invasive is not good for the invasive species either.
