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VIDEO AT LINK............ Oct. 25 (UPI) -- A Florida man found an iguana in the bowl of his toilet and documented the experience on video. Gary Greenspan, of Hollywood, recorded video when he found the invasive lizard lurking in his commode. "There's nothing like getting up in the morning and finding an iguana in your toilet," Greenspan says in the video. "It is alive." His narration says he summoned a trapper to remove the iguana. "I don't know if it was just looking for a spa day or what, but it's huge," Greenspan says. "Once they remove it, I'll be...

For 14 years, yoga instructor Anamargret Sanchez has taught a free community class at Legion Park in Miami's Upper Eastside neighborhood. It started with 20 people and grew over time, to the point where attendance can easily top 100 and regulars have braved hurricane watches and COVID-19 lockdowns to meet under the oak trees on Saturday mornings. Sanchez livestreams the sessions so those who can't make it in person can participate on Instagram. The first Saturday of 2023 drew an especially large crowd — the weather was lovely, and only seven days into the new year, resolutions still glinted with...

Standing in a boat in suburban Fort Lauderdale, Chris Whitaker aimed a .25-caliber air rifle at a large green iguana on a canal bank and squeezed the trigger. Whitaker and his girlfriend, Krissy Garcia, had paid $500 to Hunting Iguanas LLC for four hours of iguana hunting in Broward County, where the nonnative reptiles have found a congenial home along canals lined with a lush variety of trees. Hated in many neighborhoods for consuming flowers, fruit trees and vegetable gardens, green iguanas have become a business opportunity for several companies that lead guided hunts along South Florida canals. While many...

Below-freezing temperatures expected in Florida this weekendWhile freezing temperatures bring most places white specks, the same weather brings Florida green scales. Falling iguanas are expected to accompany the coldest weather the state has felt since 2018 this weekend. That’s right. Overnight and early morning lows aren’t the only thing projected to plummet in Florida come Saturday and Sunday. Because they are cold-blooded reptiles, iguanas are known to become immobile and drop when cold weather below 40 degrees comes around in South Florida.

With unexpectedly cold weather in the forecast and pandemic-related curfews in some places, Florida is about to have a Christmas unlike any other in recent memory, and it may involve falling iguanas. The National Weather Service earlier this week warned that South Florida could experience the coldest Christmas Day in 21 years. Morning lows on Saturday could drop into the low 30s and 40s degrees Fahrenheit, the weather service said. “ Brrr! Much colder temps expected for Christmas," the National Weather Service in Miami tweeted earlier this week. “Falling iguanas are possible."

Snake and eggs? Floridians could soon eat invasive pythons Python Bowl kicks off Friday in Florida Everglades Python Bowl kicks off Friday in Florida Everglades FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – Donna Kalil estimates she’s eaten a dozen pythons in the last three years or so. That’s not including the python jerky, says Kalil, a python hunter for the South Florida Water Management District. “I eat that several times a week because I take it out with me on python hunts and I eat it out there.” State officials would like to see more people like Kalil putting pythons on the menu...

A Fort Lauderdale man was in for a surprise when he went to use the bathroom Thursday. Man finds iguana in toilet, calls 911. Firefighters respond to the home, remove the lizard. Iguana was taken outside and released into the wild. The man found an iguana inside his toilet bowl and called 911. Fort Lauderdale Fire Rescue responded to the man's home and removed the lizard from the toilet. Firefighters then took the iguana outside and released it. The fire department shared pictures of the iguana on social media. "Can you imagine lifting the toilet seat and finding this? Fort...

South Florida’s not quite Jurassic Park, but it’s getting close. Packs of green iguanas are swarming seawalls, roaming yards and parks, and leaving a path of destruction and filth in their wake. Like a shot of espresso, the hot summer sun has stoked activity in the cold-blooded creatures, which experts say may be at record numbers. “This year is the most iguanas I’ve seen and I’ve been in business for nine years,” says Thomas Portuallo, owner of Fort Lauderdale-based Iguana Control. He says the invasive lizards are out of control with “many hundreds of thousands” creeping around Broward, Miami-Dade and...

Researchers are on a critical mission in the heart of Broward County — bashing in the brains of iguanas in an attempt to eliminate the reptiles that have overtaken South Florida. A 15-member team from the University of Florida is using a tool called a captive bolt gun that sends a bolt into the brain, similar to what is used in the livestock industry. They’re also smashing the creatures’ heads against solid objects, including a truck and boat they’re using to track them down. “Most of what we’re doing is blunt force trauma,” said Jenny Ketterlin, a wildlife biologist and...

In the Democratic primary, there was never any doubt Charlie Crist was going to beat former state senator Nan Rich. The next campaign against Gov. Rick Scott will be a tight race.

Former Gov. Charlie Crist was apparently a little closer to Scott Rothstein than we knew. Or maybe not. They blew out the candles on Crist's birthday cake a couple of years ago after giving the governor $52,000 (a grand for each candle). Before the disbarred Rothstein's Ponzi scheme imploded, Rothstein and the governor were in regular contact.

Unlike other polls which show a narrowing race, Quinnipiac University released a poll of registered voters Wednesday morning that finds former Gov. Charlie Crist, the leading Democratic gubernatorial candidate, with a solid lead over Republican Gov. Rick Scott.... The Q-poll relies, it should be pointed out, on a sample of 31 percent Democrats and 25 percent Republicans, an unusually low percentage of GOP voters in an off-year election..... "Florida voters think former Gov. Crist is more compassionate, more honest and trustworthy and was a better governor than Gov. Scott,” Brown said. “The difference may be simple: voters like Crist, whose...

Showing just how important a strong Democratic showing in Broward County is to Charlie Crist’s hope of returning to the Governor’s Mansion, the first field office for his campaign is set for Planation. The campaign plans to dedicate the office next week. What’s being described as the South Florida headquarters will be located at 320 South University Drive, Plantation. The grand opening is at 5 p.m. Tuesday. The only other Crist office so far is the state headquarters in St. Petersburg. Broward, which has more registered Democrats than any other Florida county is critical for the party’s hopes to win...

Iguanas invade Cape Coral, Florida neighborhood: Reptiles dig seawalls causing safety concernSome residents in Southwest Florida are worried about an iguana invasion in their neighborhood. They say the creatures are digging up holes behind their seawalls -- a major safety concern for some homeowners. Now, some residents are going to great lengths to try and get them out of the neighborhood. "We're really scared," said resident Judy Ross. The reason for Ross' fear? "I'm getting a little bit afraid of the large ones like this one that must five, they're measured from head to tail, he must be five feet...

According to a picky iguana roaming the greens at the 2014 Puerto Rico Open, Andrew Loupe's golf ball, as interesting as it may be, isn't all that delicious. Next Impulse Sports' Kiley Kmiec spotted this rather hilarious video posted to the PGA's YouTube page. It features a curious iguana moving Loupe's ball before scurrying off, as iguanas are wont to do. As for details, the YouTube description states, the moment comes as Loupe played through the 16th hole over the weekend. As the announcer mentions, this isn't the first time an animal tried to pull some shenanigans at a tour...

A Cayman Islands resident captured this Cayman Racer snake in the South Sound area, devouring a Green Iguana. Cayman Racer snakes are endemic to the Cayman Islands and aren't found anywhere else in the world. Adults have been known to reach the 4-5ft length. In fact, no Cayman snakes pose any threat to people, cats or dogs however these non-venomous snakes should be avoided by the average Green Iguana!

Eliodoro Soria Fonseca attempted to smuggle 159-pounds of iguana meat into the U.S. from Mexico in June 2011A man accused of attempting to smuggle 159-pounds of iguana meat into the United States from Mexico has been sentenced to two years in prison. On June 7, 2011, Las Vegas resident Eliodoro Soria Fonseca, 38, entered the U.S. from Mexico at the Otay Mesa Port of Entry with a strange, undeclared haul. According to authorities, Fonseca entered with several coolers filled with iguana meat, which he intentionally concealed underneath fish. When Officers with Customs and Border Protection at the Otay Mesa Port...

THE American iguana has drawn interest from a well-known Australian chef who plans to cook up a menu that will include the reptile on Taveuni. Lance Seeto, who is the executive chef at the Castaway Island Fiji, last week visited Taveuni to learn more about local food. "I have learnt a lot about local food but I will also do a menu for the iguana on the island. That won't be difficult because I have cooked iguanas in other countries I have worked in," he said. "So writing up an iguana menu won't be difficult and it will be affordable...

ROSWELL, N.M. (KRQE) - A Roswell woman is asking for the public's help in finding a missing member of her family. But this is no ordinary missing person's case. The missing member is an iguana that's around 5 feet long. 'Izzy' the iguana has only lived with the Atkinson family since last Thursday, but he's already made a run for it. Owner Melissa Atkinson said he hadn't quite adapted to all of his new siblings yet. "Okay, I have six poodles, a guard dog, two cats, a ferret, oh, and a snake," Atkinson explained. Her 7-foot red-tail Columbian Boa knows...

A new species of Galápagos iguana has scientists tickled pink. The pink iguana, named after its salmon-colored skin, lives only on the Wolf volcano on the island of Isabela. Charles Darwin did not visit the volcano on his travels to the Ecuadorian island chains in the 1830s, so the creature remained undiscovered until 1986, when it was spotted by park rangers. Only now has it been recognized as its own species.