Jun 16, 2007 7:32 am US/Eastern
Iguana Invasion In Hialeah, Dubbed 'Jurassic Park'
Hundreds Inhabit Canal Banks In West Hialeah
They Burrow Into Canal Banks
SFWMD Concerned About Unstable Top Soil
LC
HIALEAH (CBS4) ―
A Hialeah neighborhood is literally crawling with reptiles and it has officials from the South Florida Water Management District concerned.
While residents who live in the West Hialeah neighborhood, dubbed "Jurassic Park", don't seem to mind the reptile invasion, SFWMD officials do mind.
They say the large number of green iguanas that inhabit the area are causing problems because they're burrowing holes in the canal and if the water starts rising, it makes the top soil unstable.
That hasn't happened yet but engineers are studying the reptiles and the situation in order to make sure it doesn't jeopardize the canal banks.
SFWMD spokesman Nestor Yglesias told
CBS4'S Yusila Ramirez, "They're actually burrowing into the canal banks and into the levees." He went on to say "Some of these burrows are 10 to 15 feet deep into the bank so if we get a significant storm and the water rises, now we're talking about more erosion."
There are a number of other canals around South Florida that have the same problem with massive iguana populations and since they reproduce so quickly, it could become a massive issue.
That's why engineers from the SFWMD are checking the canals in order to access the situation.
Yglesias also said these prehistoric looking reptiles don't belong here. "They really don't belong in our native landscape. They are invasive exotics, they were introduced via the pet trade and a lot of these animals escaped."
CBS4'S Yusila Ramirez and her CBS4 crew counted more than 150 of the green iguanas camouflaged in the grassy canal bank in the short time they were there.
They also found some residents who feed the reptiles and experts say that's not good. In addition, the green iguanas leave droppings that could carry salmonella bacteria and if someone gets too close to one, it could snap or bite.
(© MMVII, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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