Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Is it just me, or are these press reports on Monitors getting more strident and alarmist?

MIAMI HERALD (Florida) 26 September 05 Lethal lizard invades Florida - The Nile monitor lizard, a carnivorous, sharp-toothed invasive reptile long the bane of Cape Coral and its small mammals and fish, has found its way to Sanibel, and could eventually show up in Broward. (Cara Buckley)
Sanibel: The invader arrived furtively, almost certainly by sea. Tucking scaly little arms into its slender body, it propelled itself with its ridged tail, a well-muscled rudder, through the waters from neighboring Cape Coral or Pine Island, biologists believe.
And here it now is, just as the experts feared, a carnivorous, dagger-clawed, razor-toothed African monitor lizard that knows no Florida predators, running amok in a fragile nature preserve filled with nestlings and delectable bird and turtle eggs.
''We did consider offering a reward, but we didn't want people to bring them from elsewhere,'' said Judie Zimomra, city manager for Sanibel on the southwest Gulf Coast, which posted the lizard's mug on its website and cautioned that no ''infant humans'' be left alone. ``We're very concerned, yes.''
The Nile monitor lizard is cousin to the voracious Komodo dragon -- the same kind that attacked actress Sharon Stone's then-husband in 2001 -- and has been the scourge of Cape Coral for years. Half a dozen have also been spotted on nearby Pine Island, barely two miles by sea from Sanibel, and likely where the unwelcome newcomer pushed off. Far from being vegetarians, these lizards eat clams, fish, birds, mice, rats, spiders, snakes, snails and possibly marsh rabbits -- whatever they can fit into their mouths.
''Basically, anything they can catch, they eat,'' said Gregg Klowden, a University of Florida doctoral student in wildlife biology.
Cape Coral locals have reported a decline in the number of feral cats, and fear for their pets' safety. At least one lizard has been spotted dining on a tiny, endangered burrowing owl. There's also the possibility the lizards remember where rookeries are, year after year, and that like their Komodo cousins, they hunt in packs.
The creature's recent arrival on Sanibel -- one was photographed high-tailing it across a backyard -- raised considerable alarm, because 70 percent of the island is a nature sanctuary. The sighting also confirmed a troubling southward migration of the monitor lizard, albeit one long anticipated by biologists.
''If somebody saw one animal, there's probably more. This has been my biggest fear all along, that they spread south,'' said Todd Campbell, a University of Tampa biologist who headed a monitor lizard eradication program in Cape Coral.
Campbell added that he would be surprised if the monitor lizards were not already established in South Florida.
''There's been a lot of sightings down there,'' he said.
Nile monitor lizards were first reported in Cape Coral a decade or so ago and quickly flourished in and along the city's 400-odd miles of canals. Officials suspect they were first loosed by ill-intentioned reptile traders or by unsuspecting pet owners, startled that their hand-size hatchling had grown into ornery 30-pound, seven-foot-long adults. The lizards' current population in Cape Coral is estimated at more than 1,000, and when they nest, they lay around 60 eggs.
While the lizards are preyed on by Nile crocodiles and felled by diseases in their native Africa, they have no predators in South Florida once they grow beyond a couple of feet in length. The lizards are also elusive, skittish and maddeningly difficult to catch. They can hold their breath under water for upwards of an hour, swim, burrow deep tunnels, dart up trees in seconds and clock an on-land speed of 15 mph.
Some meet premature deaths if they happen to be nailed by cars.
''They're amazingly adaptable animals,'' said Klowden, who worked with Campbell. ``If they could fly, they'd be the ultimate predator. At this point, they're not pterodactyls. Yet.''
Troubled by the lizards' expansion, Campbell launched his lizard study and eradication program in Cape Coral two years ago.
''Wanted'' posters were distributed, asking, ''Have you seen one of these?'' and long, narrow rectangular cages, baited with chicken necks, squid and chum, were positioned throughout the city's southwestern corner, where most sightings occur.
Even trapped lizards proved tough to wrangle into submission. They hurled themselves at cage bars, spitting, lashing their tails and emitting a pungent spray. A city worker cornered one but fled, he later said, after the creature reared up on its hind legs and hissed.
''Catching these things is not for the fainthearted,'' Klowden said.
Still, residents joined the city's battle in earnest. One local caught a younger lizard, sunning itself and sluggish, with a colander. Another monitor was trapped with an upended laundry basket. Another resident, a longtime alligator wrestler, lassoed a monitor with an extension cord. And one woman blasted away 14 hatchlings with a BB gun.
Last spring, Cape Coral resident Karleen Canas went after a Nile lizard with a flowerpot, held aloft, after she spotted a baby owl dangling from a lizard's jaws. The creature released its quarry but the owl didn't make it. Her neighbor, Bob Dudley, a retired Navy pilot, is so earnest in his lizard pursuit that neighbors have nicknamed him ``Monitor Dundee.''
Once caught, the lizards are chloroformed, slipped into a plastic garbage bag and put in freezers so their stomach contents can be examined. Even in death, the lizards are malodorous, carrying a musty, primordial smell. No evidence of digested household pets, larger mammals -- human or otherwise -- has been discovered, Campbell said.
Campbell caught about 110 lizards before his funding ran out, though the city continues to collect any that residents catch. Still, the biologists fear the monitor lizard infestation may already be beyond a manageable solution.
Meanwhile, on Sanibel, 10 baited traps lay in wait.
''We're about to do a citywide mail-out with its picture,'' Zimomra said. ``We're taking this lizard seriously.''
Lethal lizard invades Florida

they have razor sharp claws serrated teeth and can bench press a tank. haha

Who writes this stuff??

That's really interesting, I didn't know they hunted in packs like wolves, and preferred to dine on endangered baby owls, while snacking on the occassional infant.

Who is this imbecile?
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I can picture in my mind a world without war, a world without hate. And I can picture us attacking that world, because they'd never expect it.

there are tons of wild dogs and wild cats running around loose all over the place. raccoons run rampant all over the place. armadillos carry leprosy. all these animals are potentially more dangerous than most large lizards. people live comfortably all over the south with thousands upon thousands of large alligators all over the place. one escapes and gets loose in a large waterway in california and suddenly the equavalence of jaws has been unleashed on civilized society. large pet lizards, that are often so tame that the owners' children have befriended them, get loose and just by being seen strike fear in the hearts of man. austrailians have large lizards, argentinians have large lizards (people who visit the public parks like to feed them), south africans have large lizards. people and lizard get along quite well together. for the life of me i cannot understand why people get so scared of escaped pet lizards.

I think the point of the article, if you strip away all of the hyperbole and concentrate on what the biologists are saying, is the monitors are having a detrimental impact on native wildlife. In that regards, trying to eliminate them is a good thing.

there are several reasons that it is very, very rare for carnivorous reptiles to take root in a new environment. one is temps. the temps generally have to be just like the environment that they are used to or they will die. for years florida residents have tried to keep nile monitors outdoors. they will do well for a year or two; then one night there's a cold snap and then in a few days they are all dead. another is that most reptiles eat amphibians. most local amphibians are poisonous to most animals except local reptiles that have grown tolerant to their toxins from living along side of them over the years. most u.s. wild rodents and many insects as well have ingested pesticides and poisons that man has put out to kill them. while not killing these vermine, imported reptiles that eat them usually die. this is one reason why carnivorous reptiles that do survive usually do it far, far away from man.

While it's true that temperature could be a determining factor it doesn't have to be. Many species of tropical izards have established themselves in Florida over the last few decades. Anoles, Wall Lizards and Iguanas to name a few. Cold snaps kill off some but not all and they have a very well established foothold. The same could be a possibilty for monitor species. I am by no means an expert but it seems the numbers reported by the biologist would be too great for just escaped pets.

there have been a few lizards that have been able to survive southern florida and southern texas winters. how long is still a question. iguanas are so popular that they are getting new escapees all the time. note too that none of these lizards eat rodents or amphibians. every four or five winters florida has a more severe winter than usual. pet owners have been successful keeping certain monitors out doors for years until that one winter comes along that wipes out their lizards. some of the southern texas iguanas are thought to be indigenous and they are right at the latitude that the florida lizards inhabit. where i'm from in louisiana there is a breed of escaped parrot that has managed to establish itself and is now surviving southern louisiana winters. this parrot seems to thrive off of fruit from some of our palm trees. i'm sure other species of birds that compete with them are sufferinf from this intrusion, still local residents are enamoured by thes beautiful birds. i am totally convinced that if you and a group of well wishers tried to eradicate this species from the trees to protect the homeland from these horrible creatures that local residents would force you to stop. i think established lizards should have the same rights as birds.

I believe we all can read between the lines and see they are concered for local wildlife. However they could just say that without the lies in every other sentence. It is the lieing to everyone I do not care for. If everyone starts believing these lies we may find it harder and harder to be accepted in this world as keepers of such creatures.

I find it hard to believe there are as many niles as they claim. Perhaps on the islands but not on mainland. South Florida is full of bufos and other deadly prey items. I once counted over 100 bufo marinus in one parking lot of a park.

Thats an interesting point about marine toads. Have there been any studies done on their effects on native populations of Goannas in Australia? There are huge numbers of them there.

they have been known to kill goannas in australia. They started out with only 101 cane toads. It is in the top 100 for worst invasive species worldwide.

I guess though it is hard to lie and tell the public they have sharp teeth, claws, and will eat small dogs and infants. Which makes the story less exciting to talk about.

I think the authour of the articles main concern is that a top predator has been introduced that reproduces in large numbers and the lack of the same number of predators as in the lizards natural habitat feedin on hatchlings.............these animals would most definitely feed on endangered american crocodile eggs given the chance as well as alligator eggs, not that they are endangered also ground nesting birds could be affected.

the handful monitors will have to be pretty quick to get these clutches before the millions of raccoons that populate the area naturally do. the destruction from single small construction projects do more damage wiping out species than does competition among species. alarmists told us that we would all be dead by now from killer bees. now theye're telling me a lizard might eat a crocidile egg. forgive me if i don't lose a lot of sleep over this development. i think some people have been watching too much jurassic park.