National Weather Service Issues ‘Falling Iguana Alert’ in Florida – IOTW Report

National Weather Service Issues ‘Falling Iguana Alert’ in Florida

Epoch Times: PUNTA GORDA, Fla.–This weekend is expected to be one of the coldest in four years for South Floridians, prompting the National Weather Service in Miami to issue a Falling Iguana Alert via Twitter.

Jan. 30 is predicted to be the coldest day locally since 2018.

South Florida occasionally sees temperatures dip into the 30s and 40s overnight, which causes the cold-blooded reptiles to become “temporarily stunned,” until temperatures warm up.  They are known to sleep in trees and when immobilized by the cold, they “stiffen and lose their grip on the branches,” and fall to the ground or sometimes on an unsuspecting passerby.

Iguanas are not indigenous to Florida and are considered invasive by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission (FWC).  Native to Central and South America and Mexico, they prefer warmer climates, making Florida ideal.  However, when temperatures reach 40 and below, they slip into a cold-induced slumber. Instead of dying, they thaw out and return to be a pest another day. more

16 Comments on National Weather Service Issues ‘Falling Iguana Alert’ in Florida

  1. I’ve always heard they carry salmonella (and other diseases?).
    So..are they safe to eat anyway? And if you have to cook them to a high enough temperature to kill (whatever), are they still tender and tasty?

    If I were living in Florida, and killed them for sport, sorry all you gastronomes, I’d be feeding them to the ‘gators.

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  2. I don’t think that we’ll ever have a problem with falling iquanas up here in the Pacific NW. It’s too cold for lizards and other cold blooded critters around here except for snakes in the Summer. We just have murder hornets now to worry about (maybe) over in the Bellingham area.

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  3. Forecast: Continued cold with areas of falling iguanas. Chance of freezing iguanas. Accumulations of one to three iguanas possible overnight. Spotty iguanas tomorrow becoming mostly dead road kill by afternoon.

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