"If you're able to safely and humanely dispatch of the animal, we encourage that."
This ugly thing is the Argentine tegu.
And Georgia wants them gone.
An invasive lizard that grows up to four-and-a-half feet long is causing concern for Georgia wildlife officials who are attempting to eradicate it from the state after years of sightings.
"They eat just about anything they want," said Georgia Department of Natural Resources Wildlife biologist John Jensen in a May 8 video about the Argentine black and white tegu.
They are popular in the pet trade but trouble when released in the wild.
The reptiles grow large, reproduce fast and eat a wide variety of things, from fruit to eggs, birds and small mammals. Tegus pose a threat to native wildlife, including gopher tortoises, a candidate for Endangered Species Act listing. They have been documented using gopher tortoise burrows and eating tortoise eggs and the young.
This marks the third year the lizards have been trapped in southern Georgia, the Orianne Society said in a Monday Facebook post. Tegus have been causing problems in Florida for years.
(https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2020/05/13/tegu-lizard-georgia-officials-want-eradicate-invasive-species/5183788002/)
Just another invasive species to add to the list. Moths and carp and hornets and tegus.
What's next.
Grace & Peace & Love to you all -
Matt
This ugly thing is the Argentine tegu.
And Georgia wants them gone.
An invasive lizard that grows up to four-and-a-half feet long is causing concern for Georgia wildlife officials who are attempting to eradicate it from the state after years of sightings.
"They eat just about anything they want," said Georgia Department of Natural Resources Wildlife biologist John Jensen in a May 8 video about the Argentine black and white tegu.
They are popular in the pet trade but trouble when released in the wild.
The reptiles grow large, reproduce fast and eat a wide variety of things, from fruit to eggs, birds and small mammals. Tegus pose a threat to native wildlife, including gopher tortoises, a candidate for Endangered Species Act listing. They have been documented using gopher tortoise burrows and eating tortoise eggs and the young.
This marks the third year the lizards have been trapped in southern Georgia, the Orianne Society said in a Monday Facebook post. Tegus have been causing problems in Florida for years.
(https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2020/05/13/tegu-lizard-georgia-officials-want-eradicate-invasive-species/5183788002/)
Just another invasive species to add to the list. Moths and carp and hornets and tegus.
What's next.
Grace & Peace & Love to you all -
Matt