Warnings About Falling Iguanas Issued Across Florida After Winter Chill
By Zuri Anderson
January 25, 2022
After an arctic blast chilled the entire state of Florida this week, weather experts and news stations are now warning about potential danger from the winter weather: falling iguanas.
"We've entered FALLING IGUANA territory as temps. are in the widespread 40s across Broward & Miami-Dade," WSVN weather anchor Vivian Gonzalez tweeted Monday (January 24). "They slow down or become immobile when temps. drop & could fall from trees, but they are not dead. Don't approach. Once the sun is out, they will move."
Since iguanas are cold-blooded reptiles, freezing temperatures can cause their bodies to become rigid. As a result, they can't cling to tree branches and may fall out of trees.
We've entered FALLING IGUANA territory as temps. are in the widespread 40's across Broward & Miami-Dade. They slow down or become immobile when temps. drop & could fall from trees, but they are not dead. Don't approach. Once the sun is out, they will move. pic.twitter.com/FXdHrFbUEy
— Vivian Gonzalez (@VivianGonzalez7) January 24, 2022
🚨Falling 🦎Iguana🦎 Alert! 🚨
— WeatherNation (@WeatherNation) January 24, 2022
Temperatures in #Florida dropped to the 30's which means some reptiles froze and fell out of trees on Monday morning.
Don't worry, Fred (that's what the woman who found him named him) will thaw out once temperatures warm up. #FLwx pic.twitter.com/dsZH1uWTPw
As Gonzalez pointed out, these reptiles are still alive and can attack you once they recover quickly. It's not just the iguanas' behavior people should be aware of -- it's the weight of their bodies. Animal experts say adult males can weigh up to 20 pounds, meaning if they hit you on the way down, it could definitely hurt.
Naturally, people had jokes ready to fire when it came to these warnings.
"Florida has two seasons: hurricane and falling iguana," Adam Lichtenstein, a reporter for the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, tweeted.
Florida has two seasons: hurricane and falling iguana. https://t.co/ntjjgLHYYj
— Adam Lichtenstein (@ABLichtenstein) January 24, 2022
Hi. I’m new to Florida. We have “falling Iguana warnings?” https://t.co/uVaz4FbR2z
— Yianni Kourakis (@WPBF_Yianni) January 23, 2022
Keep a lookout for these invasive reptiles!