When we think of things that scare people, we often think of the world of Nature. Dorothy and her friends on the Wizard of Oz feared Lions and Tigers and Bears, oh my! For me, the natural things that freak me out are the things that shouldn’t be here in the first place. Also known as invasive, non-native species.
There aren’t a lot of four legged creatures that fit this category in MA, but down here in FL, the list is long with over 500 identified and still counting.
The one that freaks me out the most is the Burmese Python. It got it’s start in FL by some unscrupulous pet owners who simply released them into the wild. They obviously got too big for their homes and thought it would be a good idea to let them live in the wild. I guess it was a good idea for the Pythons, but not for the native species like deer, rabbits, foxes, bobcats and coyotes… and even your domesticated pets. Once somewhat sequestered in the Everglades, these massive creatures can reach about 20 feet long and weigh over 200 pounds and have crept beyond the everglades into Naples and as far north as Cape Coral. I haven’t seen one yet but know that my day will come. The FL department of wildlife has explicit instructions on their web site on how to kill these monsters, which is their request to anyone who spots one. You may have seen the TV show called Python Hunters (I haven’t seen it yet) which is based somewhere in the Everglades. But the cool part is that they and a few other guides let you go on a Python hunt just like a charter fishing trip. I haven’t done this yet but would like to give it a try.
Another invasive species are the many varieties of Iguana’s we are seeing. Not as scary as Python, but invasive, nonetheless. I recall seeing my first FL Iguana on Key Biscayne about 20 years ago. They are quite cute and colorful, but invasive as hell. This is another species where the FL department of wildlife supports humane extinction. We are starting to see these in large numbers and varieties here on the SW coast of FL, but not as bad as my friends on the East Coast of FL like Ft. Lauderdale where they are as common as ants.
The last ones I’ll comment on are also cute, but not good for the FL environment. These are Feral Hogs. These pigs can weigh over 300 pounds, will ruin your entire lawn in a night and cause tens of thousands of dollars of damage to golf courses in a single feeding session. I frequently see them in the nature preserve part of our Golf Course here at West Bay and can see the damage they’ve done to parts of the course and some of my neighbors’ lawns. Can anyone spell Pig Roast? In FL, there is open season to hunt Feral Hogs all year long.
