NEWS-PRESS (Fort Myers, Florida) 08 August 08 Basilisk lizard in Cape Coral raises invasive concern (Brian Liberatore)
When a Cape Coral woman spotted a 2 1/2-foot brown lizard clinging to her pool screen, her first thought was, "it doesn't belong here."
"I guessed it was somebody's pet that got freed," said Carol Peppers. "All I know is it doesn't belong here."
According to local experts, Peppers is probably right.
Peppers' visitor is known as a Jesus lizard for its ability to run across the surface of still bodies of water. It likely found itself in Cape Coral, experts agree, after a negligent pet owner let it loose.
A small population of the brown basilisks, new to Cape Coral, joins a growing list of non-native species invading local ecosystems, and making problems for wildlife authorities who seem helpless to control them. Cape's City Council wants state officials to act, from reclassifying the species to forcing owners to register them.
Green iguanas, known for their rabbit-like ability to procreate, and the notoriously ill-tempered Nile monitor lizards, which have been implicated in the deaths of several family pets, are growing in numbers in the city and elsewhere.
"The subtropics tend to be the hardest hit (with non-native species)," said Florida Gulf Coast University associate professor Win Everham. "We're able to take things that do well in the tropics and take things that do well in temperate zones. I think the most problematic places in the U.S. are Florida and Hawaii."
Everham said he was surprised to hear of the Jesus lizard and planned to see if he could trap the animal to study it.
When Peppers first spotted the brown basilisk last week, she called her neighbor, Cape Councilman Bill Deile.
The lizard-spotting prompted Deile to take action on a letter that had come across his desk from lawmakers in Pompano Beach. Commissioners in the Broward County city are asking others across the state to urge the state's Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission to take action against the reptiles and deem them "reptiles of concern."
Two- and 3-foot iguanas are overrunning places such as Pompano Beach, the Florida Keys and Boca Grande. The animals devour vegetation, push out native lizards and generally pose a nuisance.
Deile is proposing legislation at Monday's council meeting that urges the state commission to change the classification on iguanas.
The move would require iguana owners to purchase a $100 special license, said Gabriella Ferraro, public information coordinator with the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. The distinction, she added, would also require pet owners to install a microchip in their iguana when its diameter grew past 2 inches. The commission, Ferraro said, is unlikely to give the iguana a "reptile of concern" title because they're not dangerous.
Also, Ferraro said, it's their breeding habits that keep the numbers up. That's a problem microchips wouldn't solve.
The city has no plans to deem Jesus lizards "reptiles of concern."
Even with the "reptiles of concern" title, non-native lizards can continue to wreak havoc. Cape officials estimate more than 1,000 monitor lizards live in the city. They are considered reptiles of concern, but continue to evade eradication efforts.
Getting rid of unwanted lizards, Everham noted, is not easy. There are no laws that protect the invasive lizards, although cruelty and firearm laws do prohibit some methods for disposing of them. Poisons carry additional risks. And trapping, while probably the best method, is time-consuming.
With the right conditions, the brown basilisk in Peppers' backyard could be the start of an invasive infestation, Everham said.
"You think about this balance of nature," Everham said. "Everything is supposed to get eaten by everything else. That doesn't happen (with basilisk, iguanas and monitor lizards). They have this unfair advantage."
Basilisk lizard in Cape Coral raises invasive concern