I've been talking (e-mail and phone) to some of the folk mentioned in these alarmist articles about feral nile monitors. A few facts I've been given:

1) No one has reported being attacked by a monitor unless they were trying to attack/catch the monitor, and even then there has not been on serious injury (at least on record.)

2) There is likely *one* monitor in the Sanibel wildlife refuge, and they are trying to catch it alive.

3) It has not been confirmed that the monitors have had *any* bad effect on endangered species.

4) Sanibel Island is inhabited by "large numbers" of Green iguanas, another issue for me to explore. I didn't know the greenies were established that far north yet...

Assuming all goes well, I'll be spending a couple days in Cap Coral and Sanibel next week. I'll keep people posted. For those who wonder about the tone I'm going to take, read my first article about the Gasparilla iguanas:

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The Iguanas of Gasparilla Island

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