The AP has a story about the cold in the South, ending with a couple of paragraphs about iguanas, stupefied by the cold, falling out of trees. It happens most years in these parts. It's one of those things that goes with cold weather and always makes us laugh. (Well, they don't belong here, after all.)A couple of years ago, one of The Herald's photographers had been dispatched to take pix and he came back with a bright green one, about 14" long, in his pocket. It was just beginning to revive in the warm newsroom.
I forgot to check the neighborhood this morning for any on the ground, but in the meantime, here's a picture of the monster that lives on the other side of the canal where he suns himself at the top of a tree and wards off all rivals.
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6 comments:
a sight you won't see down any UK street! amazing. The cold this winter is affecting so much of our wildlife.
Hopefully no one has suffered any serious injuries from getting biffed by an iguana! The only thing falling out of trees here in Alaska is snow.
Christine
@leaves: I'm actually a Brit from Bath. Listening to Radio 4, I gather both sides of the border have had a bit of snow this year! Where in Scotland are you? I've stayed at a place called Ardtornish (nr Lochaline on the mainland side of the Sound of Mull) that has a garden with a subtropical microclimate. All sorts of wonderful things grew there.
@Christine: It actually snowed in Miami once, in January 1977 according to local legend. It didn't settle though.
On the whole, I worry more about being biffed by coconuts than iguanas, which are relatively soft!
I have a probia on these lizards, and more often there are many monitor lizards than iguanas in my region. All green and they are difficult to spot in the dense green.
@James: At least iguanas are herbivores. I've seen Nile monitors in West Africa and was happy to keep my distance. :-)
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