State's rare freeze gives residents and visitors green light to collect stunned invasive iguanas

Florida's uncommon utmost frost is providing a "unique opportunity" for citizens oregon visitors to assistance region a pesky invader from the Sunshine State, its wildlife bureau said.

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) issued an enforcement bid Friday allowing radical "to region live, cold-stunned greenish iguanas from the chaotic without a permit."

Under the provisions of the order, anyone tin bring the cold-stunned iguanas to 5 designated FWC offices connected Sunday and Monday, "no licence required, to beryllium humanely killed or, successful immoderate cases, transferred to permittees for unrecorded carnal sales."

FLIGHTS GROUNDED AND EVENTS CANCELED AS DANGEROUS DEEP FREEZE GRIPS UNEXPECTED PARTS OF US

Iguanas are an invasive taxon successful Florida that can, according to the FWC, "cause harm to residential and commercialized scenery vegetation and are often considered a nuisance by spot owners."

However, erstwhile temperatures dip into the 40s oregon below, these cold-blooded reptiles suffer the quality to determination their muscles — they've been known to autumn from trees, appearing dead. Yet they're precise overmuch alive, conscionable successful a authorities of paralysis, oregon torpor.

Cold-stunned iguanas whitethorn look dead, but they're conscionable successful a authorities of shock. (Cristobal Herrera/South Florida Sun Sentinel/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)

South Florida was forecast to person its coldest temperatures since 2010 connected Sunday morning, according to Fox Weather.

"When collecting live, cold-stunned greenish iguanas for removal, members of the nationalist should deterioration protective gloves, pants and long-sleeved shirts to support themselves from imaginable scratches," the FWC said successful a quality merchandise announcing its enforcement order.

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"The iguanas indispensable beryllium contained successful a secure, escape-proof, cloth sack oregon bag. Only cloth sacks oregon bags whitethorn beryllium utilized for superior containment to guarantee breathability — and they indispensable beryllium securely closed shut."

These bags should past beryllium placed "into a 2nd secure, locked transport container" that is labeled "Prohibited Reptiles," according to the FWC.

The FWC says residents tin instrumentality vantage of Florida's frost by transporting cold-stunned greenish iguanas to 1 of its facilities, nary licence required, to beryllium euthanized. (Saul Martinez/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Residents were urged to transport captured iguanas to the FWC "immediately to bounds the likelihood of the iguanas regaining their quality to determination freely."

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"Once transport has begun, postulation bags oregon sacks indispensable stay closed oregon sealed until they are transferred to FWC staff," the FWC said. 

"Iguanas tin retrieve from cold-stunning much rapidly than you mightiness expect."

"This is to some support the iguanas from escaping into a caller determination and to forestall the iguanas from getting escaped successful your conveyance if they commencement to retrieve from torpor."

Iguanas were archetypal reported successful South Florida successful the 1960s and person thrived successful the state's lukewarm climate, according to the FWC.

A greenish iguana enjoys caller leafy greens. These reptiles person thrived successful Florida's mostly lukewarm climate.  (iStock)

They besides "breed similar rabbits" and endanger autochthonal wildlife and plants, said Darcie Arahill, a Florida-based angler and contented creator of Darcizzle Offshore YouTube videos that thatch the creation of fishing.

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Arahill antecedently told Fox News Digital that she uses a bow and arrow to hunt and termination them, which is permitted successful Florida. She's harvested them and posted YouTube videos astir however to navigator them.

She said the process is the "best part," but the bigger the lizard, the more meat there is connected the legs.

Green iguanas are an invasive taxon that endanger Florida's autochthonal wildlife and plants. (iStock)

She likes to boil iguana nutrient successful h2o with potatoes and carrots, astir similar a stew, "to the constituent wherever the nutrient conscionable falls disconnected the bone."

The FWC cautioned the nationalist that anyone encountering a cold-stunned iguana "should ne'er bring it into your location oregon gathering to lukewarm up, and ne'er enactment it into your conveyance unless specifically transporting [it] to the FWC" nether the enforcement order.

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"Iguanas tin retrieve from cold-stunning much rapidly than you mightiness expect and, erstwhile recovered, tin enactment defensively, with agelong tails that whip and crisp teeth and claws," the FWC said.