Professional iguana trapper says cold snap caused major reduction in iguanas
By Caleb Califano
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LAKE WORTH BEACH, Florida (WPBF) — Last week’s cold snap across the Beaches and Treasure Coast has dramatically reduced the iguana population, according to Steve Kavashansky, owner of Iguana Busters, who estimates a 30% reduction in their numbers.
“Every bit of help that we can get from Mother Nature is going to help us. It’s going to help the environment, it’s going to help the residents of South Florida,” Kavashansky said.
Last week’s cold snap caused iguanas across Florida to become cold-stunned, leading to thousands being brought in by people across Florida. Kavashansky reported picking them up by the hundreds, but this week, the situation has changed.
“We would probably estimate that the cold snap had affected about 30% of the population of iguanas,” Kavashansky said.
He explained that the green reptiles often seen scurrying across backyards have been significantly reduced due to the cold.
“We come out here and it used to be you can see as far as the eye could see down the canal bank, we probably have 30 or 40, 50 iguanas. This morning I only counted seven,” Kavashansky said.
Kavashansky noted that the group of iguanas hit hardest by the cold were the alpha males, the big orange ones, because they usually stay in trees.
“Those big orange ones, those guys are seven, eight, nine, 10. Even older. That’s how old those, those guys were. So they’ve been around for a while. They’ve been around since the last cold front,” he said.
Despite the reduction, Kavashansky cautioned against expecting a significant decrease in the invasive species in the state come spring and summer.
“What we’re seeing is the smaller iguanas and the female iguanas, and they’re still carrying their eggs. So they are very resilient. They are getting acclimated to the cooler weather, and 30% of the population’s a drop in the bucket. A lot of the females survived, and they’re still carrying their eggs, and they’re getting ready to put them in a hole,” he said.
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