Crowding out the natives

( Mike Stocker, Sun Sentinel / October 12, 2010 )

In coastal Broward, Palm Beach and Miami-Dade counties, a Bahamian lizard called the northern curly-tail has crowded out native lizards. Tegu lizards, like the one pictured, can grow longer than four feet and prowl Homestead and the Tampa suburbs.

"The vast majority are from the pet trade," said Scott Hardin, non-native species coordinator for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. "Mostly it’s from pets that have been released." (U.S. Fish and Wildlife officer Carlos Pages checks out a Tegu lizard from Surinam at Miami International Airport.)