Quote:
Originally Posted by Twolunger
The orchid growers in south Florida have a vendetta going against iguanas. There seems to be big money invested in new varieties of orchids. Some growers send new orchid varieties to China to have them cloned, believe it or not. I have not seen a green iguana in my area, but have seen several Spiny Tailed iguanas. I've found several of them dead right after a winter cold spell here. There are colonies of Tegu to the north and south of Port Charlotte, but I have yet to see any here. I know Fish & Wildlife officials are worried about the Gopher Tortoise with those big Tegu's running around.
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So the orchid growers (who are an non-native species themselves) are growing non-native orchids and concerned about non-native iguanas damaging them? Anyone else see the irony in this?
Now tegus, yeah, I can see where they may play hell on gopher tortoise eggs and the young tortoises much less any other native (if there is any still remaining) wildlife they can subdue and eat. Now, of course, if the tegus wind up becoming a problem for real estate sales and land development, I'm sure then that their days in Florida would be numbered.
That is what impacted the gopher tortoises negatively more than anything else. They just so happen to prefer the same high and dry land that land developers prize so much. And we all know who wins in a tug of war of that nature.