And now for something completely different

[efdcapt115 1,511]

With all the talk in the other thread of taking photos I couldn't resist sharing with our illustrious membership, these photos from a close encounter of the prehistoric kind this morning. I'd estimate this big boy to be four feet long, probably twenty plus pounds, and nobody stopped me or questioned me for taking the photos! Oh wait the Florida Wildlife Commission cops just pulled up!!!!.........sugar...

[Alpinerunner 61]

Awesome! Is that on a pier or dock? I saw one maybe 3 feet long when I was in Key West a few months ago.

[SRS131EMTFF 471]

Its some form of Iguana, certainly non-native and invasive. Most likely a Green Iguana, I don't have to tell you but it some probably someones pet that got too big and they just let it go. Florida, especially Southern Florida and the Everglades have large problems with all kind of invasive species.

http://myfwc.com/WILDLIFEHABITATS/Nonnative_GreenIguana.htm

[wraftery 1,275]

Awesome! Is that on a pier or dock? I saw one maybe 3 feet long when I was in Key West a few months ago.

It has got to be a pier. A pier is made of wood and it's where the people go. A dock is next to the pier, in the water, where the boat goes.

[efdcapt115 1,511]

Florida, especially Southern Florida and the Everglades have large problems with all kind of invasive species.

Yep. Mostly New Yawkas and Cubans.

[grumpyff 1,159]

Here are a couple from our stay at the Miami Airport Hilton in 2009. They would come right up to the pool area, and the walkways near the water.

[Alpinerunner 61]

It has got to be a pier. A pier is made of wood and it's where the people go. A dock is next to the pier, in the water, where the boat goes.

While we are off-topic, I'd like to propose that a dock is human-made structure or group of structures involved in the handling of boats or ships, a pier is a structure that extends into the water for pedestrian traffic or boat access, and a slip is the area of water where the boat goes.

[Arrowxt 8]

You should have killed it. They are invading the Everglades and destroying them. In a few years you will be snapping shots of many different species of constrictors sunning themselves. Huge problem in Florida now and will spread to entire Gulf Coast States soon. They are nothing more than hairless rats.

[RescueKujo 130]

Florida, especially Southern Florida and the Everglades have large problems with all kind of invasive species.

You should have killed it. They are invading the Everglades and destroying them. In a few years you will be snapping shots of many different species of constrictors sunning themselves. Huge problem in Florida now and will spread to entire Gulf Coast States soon. They are nothing more than hairless rats.

I remember watching a television show, it may have been Monster Quest, where the head of the reptile section of the Miami Zoo stated that a lot of these invasive species were lost out of the zoos during Hurricane Andrew due to the surge that basically went across the state. What may be in the Everglades and lower Florida are the "children" of those lost in 1994....

[efdcapt115 1,511]

From the very large to the very small, this guy was blending so well and having a great snooze when we interrupted him

[SRS131EMTFF 471]

I remember watching a television show, it may have been Monster Quest, where the head of the reptile section of the Miami Zoo stated that a lot of these invasive species were lost out of the zoos during Hurricane Andrew due to the surge that basically went across the state. What may be in the Everglades and lower Florida are the "children" of those lost in 1994....

While it may be true that some of the rarer invasive species maybe lost from hurricane damaged zoos, it is far more likely that someone had it as a pet and when it got too big or it was too expensive or they were moving, instead of finding a home for the animal, most commonly people just let them loose in the wilds of Florida. The zoos maybe had a few that escaped, but if every year people release unwanted pets into the ecosystem that is a far bigger source. The boas that we see invading the everglades are just that, former pets and I am sure most of the Iguanas documented including the one pictured above were former pets.