ORLANDO, Florida. – My parents’ house was always full of animals like snakes, otters, turtles and big green iguanas. We even called our garden “Jurassic Park”.
This was the norm in South Florida. Everywhere you went, on the way to school or downtown, there were wild animals, especially iguanas.
When I moved to Orlando in 2019, I realized that it was not normal to see reptiles everywhere.
At least it wasn’t five years ago.
You may have noticed that green iguanas are on their way to Central Florida.
University of California biology professor Matthew Atkinson, who describes himself as the nerdy Steve Irwin, said green iguanas are migrating here because of rising temperatures and population growth.
“Honestly, as their population continues to grow in South Florida, they’re like any other animal — they want to find habitat and resources that they can use to thrive,” Atkinson said. “And since there’s a lot more down there, they have to go somewhere else. So they just move up.”
The green iguana is not native to the Sunshine State and is on the list of prohibited species. It was first spotted on the southeast coast of Florida in the 1960s, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.
Atkinson said their current presence here could be problematic because they could transmit disease and increase competition for food and other resources for native animals.
“They are larger lizards. They are more competitive and therefore can displace many of the smaller native species that we have here,” Atkinson said.
If you come across a green iguana, you should report it to the FWC and not try to capture it, Atkinson said.
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