WATCH: Dog-sized lizards are invading parts of the United States
Lizards that are the size of dogs are taking over the southern parts of the United States and we take a look at them... thankfully from a distance and with a whole ocean between us.
We tend to complain about those annoying insects, rodents, and monkeys when it comes to living in Durban and surrounds. But what happens when we look at other places in the world that have it way worse?
Dealing with a slithery lizard the size of our pinky finger can be traumatising for some Durbanites, while many people who reside in the southern states of the USA are dealing with giant lizards that have been described as the size of an average dog.
According to National Geographic: "The Argentine black-and-white tegu, a large lizard that can grow up to four feet (1.2m) in length, has already proliferated widely throughout South Florida."
But it’s not just Florida. The environmental news publication EcoWatch reported: “Tegus first came to the region as escaped or released exotic pets and began to spread in South Florida more than a decade ago. But they are now reaching other states in the region and have been spotted in Georgia, South Carolina, Texas, Louisiana and Alabama.”
WATCH the video below (courtesy of YouTube):
These creatures can grow up to 1.3m in length and up to 4.5kg in weight. The sad reality is that they are threatening the wildlife in Georgia. Talk about a real life invasion...we wonder if this is their way of getting back at us for making movies like 'Anaconda'...
"Like most large lizards, the tegu will eat almost anything, including eggs from the nests of ground-nesting birds, reptile eggs including alligator and tortoise, chicken eggs, fruit, vegetables, edible plants, pet food, carrion, grasshoppers and even small live animals such as young gopher tortoises, which are a protected species in the US." (IOL)
The Tegu Lizards are also carriers of salmonella and cause bacterial contamination of crops, so it's not just something that is scary to deal with, but it also affects the farming community and the general population.
We hope they can find a way to deal with them in a non-harmful manner, since they are not protected under the US conservation laws.
Image Courtesy of YouTube