Those Iguanas Falling From Trees in Florida? They Probably Aren’t Dead
“Even if they look dead as a doornail — they’re gray
and stiff — as soon as it starts to heat up and they get hit by the sun rays, it’s this rejuvenation,” he said.
When temperatures dip into the 30s and 40s, people from West Palm Beach to Miami know
to be on the lookout for reptiles stunned — but not necessarily killed — by the cold.
Iguanas climb up trees to roost at night, said Ron Magill, communications director for Zoo Miami.
“Which is why you get this phenomenon in South Florida that it’s raining iguanas.” (Including on windshields.)
“When the temperature goes down, they literally shut down, and they can no longer hold on to the trees,” he said.
Iguanas, which can be as long as six feet, are not native to South Florida.
“It’s one of those ethical things: What do you do?” he said in an interview.
