The annals of Florida’s eternal battle with invasive species are filled with creative, unique, and bizarre techniques for ridding the marauding pest state.
Barefoot python hunting, robot rabbits, contract killers, DNA testing, specially trained dogs and artificial intelligent traps are all in the arsenal.
By chance, a new method appeared – diving with iguanas.
Mike Kimmel, who goes by the name Python Cowboy on social media and leads guided iguana hunts, was caught on video jumping into a rippling eddy of canal water to capture one of the reptiles as he sought an aquatic escape. Sometimes, throwing in headfirst and barehanded is just the most effective and efficient way to catch the pesky lizard, Kimmel said.
And after seeing the feat posted online, Kimmel’s customers continue to request to try the exclusive experience in Florida.
“I have a lot of people who have done everything, been to Africa, are guides themselves, hunted everywhere, and this is something they haven’t done,” Kimmel said of the iguana dive. “It’s something new and exciting.”
Kimmel advises her clients on safety and style—no shocks, cannonballs, or leg relaxation.
“I tell people to go hands first,” Kimmel said. “Sometimes they get nervous and go feet first and you can’t catch an iguana with your feet.”
More: UF researchers are deploying robotic rabbits throughout South Florida to fight the Burmese python outbreak
Often, iguanas flee from their den on a sunny canal bank and jump into the water to escape. Sometimes they have already been shot and have to be retrieved from the water. It’s a job Kimmel’s trained dogs could normally perform. He says he often has to restrain eager canines when a client chooses to dive for an iguana.
Kimmel, who also leads Burmese python hunts, said iguana activities are more popular, possibly because it’s also a fun day on a boat in Florida, while pythons often lurk at night.
“To dive in and come up with an iguana is a hero moment, it’s become the funnest part of our day, especially on hot summer days,” Kimmel said.
While it’s a national chuckle when temperatures drop in Florida and iguanas fall from temporarily immobilized trees, they’ve become a costly pest. They eat expensive landscaping, poop in pools and clog miles of flood control channels.
Iguanas cannot survive long days of temperatures colder than about 50 degrees, especially if they come with cloudy skies that prevent them from getting back into the sun. But they have been found in North Florida and the Panhandle, according to reports posted on the Early Detection and Distribution Mapping System, or EDDMapS.
And there’s probably more to it than what’s on the record. Because iguanas have become almost as ubiquitous as squirrels in South Florida’s urban landscape, most people probably stopped reporting sightings long ago, University of Florida professor Frank Mazzotti said in an August interview.
“For all these invasive species, we really don’t have monitoring programs that look at the spread and the increase in numbers,” said Mazzotti, who oversees the school’s Croc Docs program. – It’s like we’re fighting in the dark.
Iguanas are not protected in Florida except under anti-cruelty laws and can be humanely killed year-round on private property with landowner permission, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. People with hunting permits or licenses can also kill them on 32 public lands in areas north to near Sebring south of Homestead.
The Lake Worth Drainage District recently contracted with a hunter to rid its canals of iguanas.
“They’ve found this perfect urban environment where our canals provide a source of refuge because there aren’t many people disturbing them and they have food sources nearby,” said Tommy Strowd, the district’s executive director.
It is also a safety issue. District heavy equipment such as dump trucks and excavators run along the sides of the canal. If an iguana burrow collapses, it can cause the equipment to become unbalanced and topple into the water.
“They’re persistent,” Strowd said of the iguanas.
“They took over”: Iguanas have helped close a decades-old swimming pool in Palm Beach County
He’s not sure he’s ready for an iguana dive, though. Channels may contain random debris, including shopping carts, tree branches, and automobiles.
Kimmel said some of the channels are surprisingly clear and you can see obstacles in the water as well as iguanas.
In addition to diving style tips, Kimmel also suggests clients grab the iguanas by their back legs, making it harder for them to turn around and bite or claw them. He said he can have up to three boats a day hunting iguanas with people coming from all over the world, including China, Sweden and Australia. Iguana hunts start at $1,250 for one to six people.
“I’m always surprised how many people come just for our hunt, whether it’s iguana or python,” he said.
About 10% of its customers want to go diving. Of these, about half are successful.
Texans excel at diving, as do people from Alaska and Montana.
“We’ve had a lot of Amish, too. Amish are animals,” Kimmel said of their enthusiastic hunting style. “Everyone is just about having fun.”
Kimberly Miller is a reporter for The Palm Beach Post, part of the USA Today Network of Florida. It covers real estate, weather and the environment. Subscribe to The Dirt for a weekly roundup of real estate. If you have news tips, please send them to kmiller@pbpost.com. Help support our local journalism, subscribe today.
This article originally appeared on the Palm Beach Post: Florida Python Cowboy hunts invasive iguanas by diving into water