I recently stumbled upon the Instagram account of Trapper Mike, which is appropriately named @pythoncowboy. Trapper Mike has made a name for himself wrangling pythons in the swamps of Florida.

Mike also eradicates the area of other invasive species. Among them is the green iguana.

These reptiles are overrunning Florida and wreaking havoc on the local ecosystem. With the explosion in population and the problems they are causing.

From the Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission:

Green iguanas cause damage to residential and commercial landscape vegetation and are often considered a nuisance by property owners. Iguanas are attracted to trees with foliage or flowers, most fruits (except citrus) and almost any vegetable. Some green iguanas cause damage to infrastructure by digging burrows that erode and collapse sidewalks, foundations, seawalls, berms and canal banks. Green iguanas may also leave droppings on docks, moored boats, seawalls, porches, decks, pool platforms and inside swimming pools. Although primarily herbivores, researchers found the remains of tree snails in the stomachs of green iguanas in Bill Baggs Cape Florida State Park, suggesting that iguanas could present a threat to native and endangered species of tree snails. In Bahia Honda State Park, green iguanas have consumed nickerbean, which is a host plant of the endangered Miami Blue butterfly. As is the case with other reptiles, green iguanas can also transmit the infectious bacterium Salmonella to humans through contact with water or surfaces contaminated by their feces.

In the meantime, Floridians cannot get rid of green iguanas fast enough. That is why they call on Mike and other trappers to remove these critters. Being a nonnative invasive species, the green iguana is not protected and can be killed with permission of the property owner.

So that had me wondering, do people eat iguana meat? After a brief search, I found out it is something I need to try. Iguana is known as “chicken of the trees”. In fact, according to The San Carlos University of Guatemala, iguana meat is healthier than that of chicken.

More nutritious than chicken

The iguana has a mild flavor and is an economical source of protein. According to the University of Florida there is no problem with its consumption.

The iguana meat has higher protein content less fat than chicken. The San Carlos University of Guatemala compared the nutritional value of various meats, finding that 100 grams of chicken have 18.6 grams of protein and 15.1 grams of fat, while 100 grams of iguana have 24.4 grams of protein and only 0.9 grams of fat.

LINK

Just go ahead and throw that on the grill! I would love to try some. If there is an impending meat shortage on the horizon, I will gladly add iguana meat to my diet.

Let’s do our part to eradicate these pests!

OUTTA HERE!