This browser does not support the Video element.
Daytona Beach police officers catch massive iguana on the loose
Daytona Beach police officers had an unusual call this week — a massive iguana roaming through a neighborhood.
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - Daytona Beach police officers had an unusual call this week — a massive iguana roaming through a neighborhood.
Officers responded after residents reported spotting the large reptile wandering near a home.
What we know:
Daytona Beach police were called to a neighborhood this week after residents reported a massive iguana wandering near a home.
Officers’ body camera footage shows them struggling to corner and capture the reptile before finally securing it in the back of a patrol car. Investigators believe the animal was a pet that got loose. No one was hurt during the incident.
What we don't know:
It’s unclear who owns the iguana or how it escaped. Police have not said if they located the owner or whether the animal will be returned or turned over to wildlife officials. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) has not commented on this specific case.
The backstory:
Green iguanas are considered an invasive species in Florida.
The FWC allows and even encourages their removal from private property, with landowner permission. They can be humanely killed year-round, and no hunting license is required on 32 FWC-managed lands in South Florida.
Big picture view:
Iguanas are not native to Florida but have spread widely across the state, especially in South Florida. Their burrowing habits damage infrastructure and threaten native plants and wildlife.
What they're saying:
The FWC now lists green iguanas as a prohibited species and supports professional removal to control the growing population.
"Green iguanas are nonnative to Florida and not protected by state wildlife laws, except for anti-cruelty laws," the FWC said in its guidance. "We encourage residents to safely remove or report sightings of these invasive reptiles."
Report sightings of nonnative species
What you can do:
Reporting observations helps FWC manage nonnative species. The best reports of nonnative species are credible reports and contain three elements:
- A photograph showing the animal in question that is not blurry and has a high enough resolution so that it can be enlarged to ensure species identification
- The location where the animal was seen. GPS coordinates are best, but the location can also be a street address or detailed description of the area.
- The date when the animal was seen.
More information on how to report a nonnative species can be found here.
CLICK TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX LOCAL APP
SIGN-UP FOR FOX 35'S BREAKING NEWS, DAILY NEWS NEWSLETTERS
The Source: This story was written based on information shared by the Daytona Beach Police Department, and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC).