Image via Wikipedia
Feral iguana
lives down south
likes it there
in hospitable Boca;
the subtropical
greenery like
a welcome mat.
Taking over native
flora and fauna,
their numbers
swelling, they’ve
settled in.
Digging burrows,
decimating plants,
climbing trees
to lay in wait.
Enjoying your
yard and even
your pool, they’re
smelly invaders
uninvited to stay.
And come the
brisk cold in winter’s
wake, they freeze
in their tracks and
fall from the trees!
We must make
peace, they’re
here to stay,
but I’m glad they’ve
not made it to my
hometown yet.
There are many invasive plant and animal species that have made their way into Florida. The invasion of the Green Iguana, and other iguanas, has been blamed primarily on people who have kept them as pets and then let them loose into the wild (or they escaped) when the owners found them too difficult to manage. I personally, don’t think that the average person is capable of being responsible for these and other exotic animals and there should be a ban on keeping them. As it is, we are overrun by cats and dogs that are not cared for properly and are not neutered or spayed and neither are the iguanas. We are learning the hard way. I’m not sure why laws aren’t engaged to protect animals from careless human beings who are now creating larger problems for our environment. I do not blame the animals, of course…it’s unconscious humans.
