It’s So Cold That Iguanas Are Falling From Trees In Florida (and can you guess the cause?)

So this is happening in Florida

‘Frozen’ iguanas are falling out of trees in Florida. Please don’t pick them up.

One of the strongest winter storms on the East Coast in modern history has pummeled cities with snow and sleet, forcing schools and businesses to close while grounding thousands of flights.

And in South Florida, it is “raining iguanas.”

Green iguanas, like all reptiles, are coldblooded animals, so they become immobile when the temperature falls to a certain level, said Kristen Sommers of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. Under 50 degrees Fahrenheit, they become sluggish. Under 40 degrees, their blood stops moving as much, Sommers said.

They like to sit in trees, and “it’s become cold enough that they fall out.”

This is not a new phenomenon — there were similar reports in 2008 and 2010 — though it is not typical.

It was actually happening so much during that 2008 winter that news media set up cameras to see if people were telling the truth. They were. And the cold can effect bats, which can also fall from trees, along with manatees, sea turtles, and other wildlife which isn’t used to such pervasive cold weather. So, of course

https://twitter.com/joshbeckwith/status/949199391826628608

https://twitter.com/iekee/status/949178741460119552

These people.

Anyhow

Picture from this tweet.

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6 Responses to “It’s So Cold That Iguanas Are Falling From Trees In Florida (and can you guess the cause?)”

  1. The also thaw out nicely on a stick over an open fire.

  2. Jl says:

    So then a severe heatwave in the summer will be caused by global cooling. Or something

  3. Dana says:

    The first week of January, and it’s cold. Imagine that!

  4. alanstorm says:

    Mr. Beckwith comes THIS CLOSE to consciousness, and misses it completely. Snow in FL, after 28 years, means it’s happened before. If you keep going back I’m sure you’ll find additional instances as well.

  5. captainfish says:

    Iguanas also fell out of trees a few years ago during another cold spell. How is this one different? Why is this one the MOST BADDEST IN MODERN HISTORY?!?! And.. what is “modern history”? Last 10 years? Yeah, then they could be right. I seem to recall about 5 years back or so that the NE got slammed by a MOST BADDEST IN MODERN HISTORY storm that dumped like feet of snow all over them. People’s houses were crumbling from all the snow. But… this storm.. it’s just… cold.

    Yeah.. cold happens.

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