Footage showed immobilised iguanas lying in the grass and on pavements beneath trees following a temperature drop in Florida.
Reuters was able to verify the location of the videos by the buildings, parking lot layout, trees a bridge and a body of water which matched file and satellite imagery. The date when the videos were filmed was verified by original file metadata.
Prolonged cold weather can cause reptiles and amphibians, including invasive green iguanas, to enter a torpor-like state in which they temporarily lose muscle control, appear “frozen,” and may even fall from trees, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission said in a post on its website.
Green iguanas were accidentally introduced as stowaways on cargo ships and are considered an invasive species. They can weigh up to 17 pounds (7.5 kg) and measure more than five feet (1.5 metres) in length.
Pierce Kennamer, founder and president of IggyTrap, said he and his employees collected around 1,500 immobilised iguanas in Broward County.
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