Lounge Lizard :)

Today we took a long walk along the Riverwalk here in Fort Lauderdale...and found these orange colored Green iguanas. This one was lounging in the sun, as the temperatures have been unusually cold at night. We also took the water taxi through the canals...saw some serious yachts and homes. Everything was in the "millions"...hard to believe the sizes of homes and yachts!

To see more photos from today, visit my FLICKR page...

here is a bit of info about the iguana...

The Green Iguana is established on Oahu and Maui, Hawaii as a feral species (despite strict legislation banning the importation of any reptiles) and the Rio Grande Valley of Texas. As most reptiles carry salmonella, this is a concern and a reason legislation has been sought to regulate the trade in Green iguanas.

Due to a combination of events, the Green Iguana is considered an invasive species inSouth Florida and is found along the gulf coast of Florida from Key West to Pinellas County. The original small populations in the Florida Keys were animals that were stowaways on ships carrying fruit from South America. Over the years, other iguanas were introduced into the wild mostly originating through the pet trade. Some were escapees and some were intentionally released by their owners; these iguanas survived and then thrived in their new habitat. They commonly hide in the attics of houses and on beaches. They often destroy gardens and landscaping. They seem to be fond of eating a native endangered plant, Cordia globosa and feeding on Nickernut (Caesalpinia) a primary food plant of the endangered Miami Blue Butterfly (Cyclargus thomasi bethunebakeri); additionally on Marco Island, Green Iguanas have been observed using the burrows of the Florida Burrowing Owl, a species of special concern, all of which can make them more of a serious threat to Florida's ecosystem than originally believed.

In January 2008, large numbers of iguanas established in Florida dropped from the trees in which they lived, due to uncommonly cold nights that put them in a state of torpor and caused them to lose their grips on the tree branches. Though no specific numbers were provided by local wildlife officials, local media described the phenomenon as a "frozen iguana shower" in which dozens "littered" local bike paths. Upon the return of daytime warmth many (but not all) of the iguanas "woke up" and resumed their normal activities. This occurred again in January 2010 after a prolonged cold front once again hit southern Florida.