Posted on 05/11/2010 4:26:40 PM PDT by Willie Green
OCALA, Fla. — As if the latest reports of Burmese pythons, monitor lizards and Cuban tree frogs crawling around Florida are not enough to creep you out, there's a scary new invader in town.
It's an exotic lizard called a tegu, a 4-foot-long reptile from Argentina with sharp claws and a voracious appetite for meat that could possibly tip the ecological applecart. One was spotted last week in Ocala National Forest, a place teeming with campers, swimmers and hikers.
Forest officials said the black-and-white critter was likely dropped off in the forest by an overwhelmed pet owner.
“We're taking this very seriously,” said Carrie Sekerak, a forest-wildlife biologist. “A tegu is known to go inside gopher-tortoise burrows and dig out mice and tortoise eggs. ... It can tip the balance suddenly.”
Common in South America, tegus are one of the most abundant lizards in southern Brazil. The leather-skinned creatures have even been harvested for their skins and meat in Paraguay and Argentina. They also have been used to control rat populations.
Tegus are omnivorous and have a taste for native plants and small rodents, which are food for Florida snakes and raptors.
“So they are taking away a food source for those animals,” Sekerak said.
In recent years, tegus have become popular with exotic-pet aficionados in the United States because of their docile nature. It's not unusual for tegu owners to let their pets run free inside their homes, said Kevin Enge, a herpetologist with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.
“A lot of people watch television with them sitting on their laps,” Enge said.
However, the animals can bite and will lash their tails as a whip if cornered.
(Excerpt) Read more at chron.com ...
Too many strange animals not native to the USA have been allowed into this country—and not all of them have 4 legs.
Our diversity is our strength, and don’t you forget it.
Why would anyone want that for a pet??
Maybe they taste like chicken?
bump
“Why would anyone want that for a pet??”
Same person that would vote for Obama or Pelosi.
How is it grilled with peppers and onions?
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