In South Florida, for example, tegus, among the most popular reptile pets in the US, escaped from a breeding facility “where they were kept negligently in open cages,” Frank Mazzotti, a professor of ecology at the University of Florida, wrote in the book Exotic Amphibians and Reptiles of the United States. In other instances, the problem is more like carelessness. Sometimes those introductions are an accident: Hurricanes and other storms can destroy reptile breeding facilities, allowing the animals to escape. Many scientists blame the pet trade for releasing exotic animals into Florida. Steven Tillis, a snake breeder and academic researcher in Florida, holding a blood python that he bred. It was an Argentine black and white tegu, a species native to South America that can grow nearly 5 feet long. Nothing stood out, except for the giant reptile lying in a pile of lawn waste. I passed a man unloading groceries from his trunk and another resident walking his dog. One afternoon, I was walking around a gated community in a suburb of Miami. My aim was to travel around the state in search of nonnative animals and in the process, answer another, more basic question: Why are there so many exotic creatures in Florida to begin with?Ī major advantage of this kind of safari is that you don’t have to travel far to find wildlife. This question brought me to Florida during a heat wave in July, where I went on a safari, of sorts - an invasive species safari. That leaves Florida in a tough position: Killing sprees are often futile and even cruel, and yet the state can’t simply let all introduced species run rampant. Eradication has become a game of whack-a-lizard. Meanwhile, nonnative animals continue to leak into the environment from Florida’s gargantuan pet industry. By transforming the natural environment, and covering it with buildings, lights, and lawns, we’ve created the perfect place for many of these exotic species to breed and thrive. Videos online show people hunting lizards, frogs, and other species with blowguns, air rifles, and slingshots, all in the name of saving the environment.įor the most part, these efforts aren’t working. At times, Florida’s battle against exotic species turns violent. Florida’s Fish and Wildlife Commission (FWC), the state wildlife agency, sponsors “rodeos,” events where people compete to kill as many of a certain invasive species as possible. It’s gone as far as turning eradication into a sport. Exotic species are blamed for harming local ecosystems and damaging human property, so the state is trying to get rid of them. These creatures are unwelcome - and in some cases, despised. This reporting was supported, in part, by the BAND Foundation, which provides funds for biodiversity reporting projects at Vox. Special thanks to Noah Gripshover for taking Benji on a tour of Miami’s nonnative animals. He kayaked in a springfed river, trekked through forests, and cruised dark roads at night, ultimately spotting more than 20 nonnative species.īenji also interviewed more than a dozen biologists, reptile researchers, and other experts from the University of Florida, the University of South Florida, Florida International University, and the Conservancy of South Florida. Reporter Benji Jones traveled to Florida and spent a week observing wildlife near Orlando, Fort Myers, Miami, and Fort Lauderdale, often shadowing researchers as they studied giant lizards and other animals. There, through the branches, I saw the unmistakable face of a monkey. Half an hour in, when I was about to turn back in pursuit of air conditioning and a fresh pair of socks, I heard a rustling overhead. A thorny underbrush etched puffy red lines into my bare legs. With each step, thick mud crept past my ankles, making it difficult to move. I couldn’t find monkeys in the lot, so I tried my luck in the forest. The only visible natural habitat was a sliver of forest, just a few hundred feet wide, wedged between the paved lot, a field of oil tanks, and a highway. On a stifling morning in late July, I stood in a large parking lot near Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, about 40 minutes north of Miami. FORT LAUDERDALE, Florida - I was told the monkeys would be here, although nothing about this spot seemed particularly suitable for wildlife.
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