SRL>It's been documented that the original population was
SRL>released by people in the pet trade, who wanted to breed
SRL>monitors in the wild and then capture the babies for sale.

JPS>This has not been confirmed. It has been mentione
JPS>and is one theory. Another theory was the hurricanes
JPS>that went through could of led to the escape.

I've heard the hurricane theory, too. It's possible, although I have confirmed that breeders have released monitors (and other lizards) into wild. It could well be that there are several sources for the current monitor population.

Stomach content studies have not found significant predation against cats and dogs (or people, for that matter). However, there is very clear evidence that the monitors have attacked the burrowing owls, a very endangered species. And it seems reasonable to me that the monitors pose a threat to endangered birds and turtles in the area, including those on Sanibel island.

JPS>The real funny thing is that was dismissed. The head
JPS>biologist working to rid florida of them claims they
JPS>got loose in 1990.

I suspect *some* people want to eradicate the nile monitors, but certainly not all. I've been in contact with some african herpetologists, and their universal opinion is that nile monitors are only dangerous when injured or provoked. What I find surprising is that the Florida herpetologist seem to completely ignore the body of knowledge found in the monitor's home territory.

I suspect the danger lies somewhere between the extreme opinions of lizard lovers and eradicators. At this time, the greatest problem I see is in unbalancing an already precarious ecosystem. But I intend to spend quite a bit of time in the area, and learn more.

JPS>So I wonder how close his estimate of 1,000 niles is?

It's hard to say how accurate the estimate is; they don;t really say how they came by that number. Was it by calculating carrying load, or by number of sitings, or just guessing?

JPS>Another non native species is here because of a spill
JPS>at the airport. The monk parakeets came in and the box
JPS>was dropped leaving them to escape.

Monk (or quaker) parakeets arrived form several sources, including the airport spill. I know for a fact that a breeder released dozens in Pinellas County some years back, and people often release noisy Quakers.

JPS>Maybe he will be nice and rid florida of fire ants next,
JPS>orr land snails, or brown anoles, brown basalisks, knight
JPS>anoles, black pacu, oscars, holly trees, mellaluca
JPS>trees, and all of the others things that are not supposed
JPS>to be here.

Yes, Florida is one messed up state.

I found an article today about how the Miami green iguanas are eating the alien snails! Given a choice, I prefer iggies over snails...
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Scott Robert Ladd
1.0.0 Iguana (Rex)
1.1.0 African Giant Plated Lizard (Clyde, Cassie)
1.0.1 Uro mali (Wizard, Dizzy)
0.1.0 Corn Snake (Amber)
0.1.0 Red-Eared Sliders (Emerald)
0.0.1 Musk Turtle (Sausage)
1.1.0 Parakeet (Thor, Zeus)
1.4.0 Homo sapiens (Scott, Maria, Elora, Becky, Tessa)
blog: http://chaoticcoyote.blogspot.com/

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