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Beware Falling Iguanas, Florida Warns Beware Falling Iguanas, Florida Warns
(about 1 hour later)
If you’re in South Florida, you might want to keep an eye on the sky as you walk around outside: It could start raining iguanas. If you’re in South Florida, you may have woken up to paralyzed lizards littering your walkway.
The National Weather Service in Miami issued a warning for the region on Twitter on Tuesday, as well as a wind chill advisory for all of South Florida from Tuesday night through Wednesday morning. Temperatures fell into the 40s — and even the 30s — in the region overnight, with high winds adding insult to injury. The impending chill prompted the National Weather Service in Miami to tweet an “iguana rain” warning on Tuesday.
“Don’t be surprised if you see iguanas falling from the trees tonight as lows drop into the 30s and 40s,” it cautioned. “Brrrr!” Watching iguanas seemingly fall out of the sky is nothing new for Floridians. The invasive species that is seemingly everywhere around Miami, and which can grow to be more than five feet long, is coldblooded. Low temperatures stun the lizards, without killing them, but they can be reanimated by warmer weather. (Temperatures in Miami were supposed to climb back into the 60s by Wednesday afternoon.)
But watching lizards seemingly fall out of the sky is nothing new for Floridians, many of whom are used to seeing the reptiles drop from trees when the temperature dips.
Iguanas climb trees at night to roost, Ron Magill, communications director for Zoo Miami, told The New York Times in 2018. But when there are low temperatures, “they literally shut down, and they can no longer hold on to the trees.”Iguanas climb trees at night to roost, Ron Magill, communications director for Zoo Miami, told The New York Times in 2018. But when there are low temperatures, “they literally shut down, and they can no longer hold on to the trees.”
“Which is why you get this phenomenon in South Florida that it’s raining iguanas,” he said. “Which is why you get this phenomenon in South Florida, that it’s raining iguanas,” he said.
Iguanas, which can grow to be more than five feet, are not native to South Florida and are susceptible to the cold. Low temperatures can stun the lizards without necessarily killing them, but they can be reanimated by warmer weather.
“Even if they look dead as a doornail — they’re gray and stiff — as soon as it starts to heat up and they get hit by the sun rays, it’s this rejuvenation,” Mr. Magill said. “The ones that survive that cold streak are basically passing on that gene.”“Even if they look dead as a doornail — they’re gray and stiff — as soon as it starts to heat up and they get hit by the sun rays, it’s this rejuvenation,” Mr. Magill said. “The ones that survive that cold streak are basically passing on that gene.”
He believes the iguanas will creep north within a couple of decades, because they will be able to withstand colder climates.
WPLG Local 10, the ABC affiliate, sent a reporter out to observe the process in the wild, or at least on the sidewalk. The correspondent, Parker Branton, captured the slow process as they began to move their arms and legs again, making languid movements as they came back to life.
“You can let the children know at home, these iguanas are going to be O.K.,” he said with a smile.
Well, maybe not all of them.
The Miami Herald reported that iguana meat, or “chicken of the trees,” started showing up on Facebook Marketplace overnight. Iguanas are commonly hunted in parts of Central and South America and the Caribbean, the newspaper noted, and are perfectly safe to eat if obtained from a reputable processor and cooked to at least 165 degrees. They also contain lots of protein.
Patricia Mazzei contributed reporting.Patricia Mazzei contributed reporting.