I was surprised to read that a cat eating lizard lives in Florida. It is a big nasty-looking beast and it is called a ‘tegu’. It comes from Argentina and it not native to America. I guess someone brought a couple over on a boat and it has bred ever since. And they are efficient breeders.
It is four feet long with sharp claws and teeth. It has a strong bite and they can swim well, even underwater for a long time. They eat ‘domestic animals’. Nice. One was seen in a Palm Bay neighborhood.
This unusual predator of the domestic cat must be another good reason why cat owners keep their cats inside.
This is not the first time a tegu has been spotted in Brevard County. If one is seen you are meant to note the location, take a photo and report the sighting to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission (FWC). Phone 1-888-483-4681.
Source: Giant Lizard That Eat Cats, Tegu On The Loose In Brevard County
Let’s not forget the destructive hurricanes and tornadoes Florida has had over the years. Houses leveled to the ground…so imagine how many facilities have been destroyed resulting in non native species being released into the wild.
Pythons in the Everglades comes to my mind. You see, it’s not only the pet trade that’s responsible as so many like to claim.
Yes, well said Debra. There are real dangers out there in the wilds of Florida.
Yes Michael and most would agree (myself included) that the most dangerous species of all are of the human kind… homo sapiens.
Sadly yes, the ‘human’ is extremely dangerous and often mad.
I lived in Brevard County for over 20 years. Gratefully, I never encountered this lizard.
It always angers me that non-native animal species are entered into our country with very little scrutiny. But, just let a little kid try to board a plane with a lollipop in her mouth…
Customs is a joke.
The species that we call the house-cat, Felis catus, is non-native as well. It has no native habitat anywhere on earth. It is a species that was created by humans through selective breeding and ruthless culling–by destroying the genetic lines those which do not possess traits beneficial to humans for hundreds (or even thousands) of years. This is how ALL animals are “domesticated” into new species for human use from their original wild native species. These house-cats are completely different and apart from all other cat species on earth. This is why it can unnaturally breed 3 to 4 times faster than any naturally occurring cat species and are driven to kill all other small animals even when not hungry. Humans bred (and culled) them to have those traits. If it weren’t for humans killing hundreds of millions of native cat species over the centuries, and breeding only those that would tolerate the company of humans, you wouldn’t have the ones you can pet and cuddle today. That’s how “domestication” of animals works.
Yes the domestic cat is non-native to the US but it has been in that country for 400 years and contributed to an unimaginable amount of happiness amongst humans.
Tegus have been kept as pets. Many are either abandoned or escape into the wild, but in order to breed there has to be a mate nearby. Not good news for Florida if they are now breeding in the wild. We have enough predatory species living here already.