Florida euthanizes 5,000 iguanas after cold snap stuns the invasive reptiles
Richard Luscombe in Miami
Thu, February 5, 2026 at 5:52 PM UTC
3 min read
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Wildlife officials in Florida say they euthanized more than 5,000 non-native iguanas in the state after hordes of the reptiles froze and fell from trees in this week’s cold snap.
The Florida fish and wildlife commission (FWC) authorized the first officially sanctioned cull of “cold-stunned” iguanas as temperatures plunged below freezing in many areas of the state.
Members of the public, and professional pest control companies, brought 5,195 of the large, invasive green iguanas to FWC collection centers, where they were euthanized.
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Almost all of the roundup occurred in south Florida, where the creatures started falling from trees on Saturday. The tropical iguanas’ systems shut down below 45F, but they can remain alive for days, stiff and motionless until temperatures rise.
A majority, 3,882, were delivered to the FWC headquarters in Sunrise. Another 1,075 were taken to Tequesta; there were 215 at Marathon, in the Florida Keys, and 23 at Fort Myers, the FWC said.
The commission passed an emergency order last week setting up the two-day drop-off for Sunday and Monday, using the cold snap as an limited-time advantage in its efforts to reduce numbers of a burrowing species blamed for damage to sidewalks, seawalls and other infrastructure, as well as having a voracious appetite for native plants and flowers.
“As an invasive species, green iguanas have negative impacts on Florida’s environment and economy,” Roger Young, executive director of the FWC, said in a statement.
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“The removal of over 5,000 of these non-native lizards in such a short time span was only possible thanks to the coordinated efforts of many staff members in multiple FWC divisions and offices, our partners, and of course the many residents that took the time to collect and turn in cold-stunned iguanas from their properties.”
Temperatures in south Florida, which reached their lowest since at least 2010, rose again significantly by Wednesday, with many thousands more fallen iguanas that were not collected warming up and recovering from their extended torpor.
The public is permitted to humanely kill green iguanas year-round on their property, or with landowner permission, but it is illegal to own them as pets or transport them without a license.
The early-week rare arctic air in south and central Florida, meanwhile, will deliver a $13bn-$15bn hit in economic damage to the state, notably in hard-hit citrus groves and other agricultural industries, according to AccuWeather.
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“This recent freeze may have destroyed or severely damaged 8-10% of the current citrus crop on the trees. We will learn more about the extent of the damage as the citrus groves are assessed in the coming days,” AccuWeather founder and executive chair Joel Myers said.
Producers warned that prices for Florida-grown fruit and vegetables are likely to rise in the coming days and weeks as a result, and Wilton Simpson, the state’s agriculture commissioner, has called on the US Department of Agriculture to approve a disaster declaration opening federal aid to farmers and suppliers.
Temperatures dropping to the low 40s fahrenheit were expected in south Florida again this weekend.