Watch as 4-foot invasive lizard jumps from tree into boat loaded with Florida hunters

An invasive iguana with a bad sense of timing dove out of a tree and landed in the middle of a boat loaded with Florida swamp hunters, video shows.

It was a uniquely Florida moment, and the men’s response was pure Floridian.

Instead of jumping out of the boat as the 4-foot-long lizard flopped around, they are heard laughing and one pinned the lizard underfoot like a big cockroach.

“Got ‘em son,” veteran wildlife trapper Mike Kimmel says in the video. “That’s what we call a dang canal dragon, y’all. ... He is not happy. We just woke his (butt) up.”

The iguana then tried (and failed) to bite Kimmel, who is known as the Python Cowboy on social media.

The moment played out as Kimmel was guiding a night hunt for invasive Burmese pythons, which are disrupting the Everglades ecosystem.

Pythons and iguanas are equally unwanted in Florida and Kimmel made it a point to stop when he saw the lizard in a tree, the video shows. He was attempting to poke it with a long stick when the iguana sailed into his boat.

“This big guy was not expecting the wake-up call, but I didn’t hesitate — we went in and got him!’ Kimmel wrote on social media.

Florida wildlife officials require iguanas to be euthanized when caught in the wild.

The lizards are herbivores and their foraging is impacting native plants, some of which host endangered insects, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission reports.

Kimmel referred to the captured iguana as a “big orange breeder” in the video. Male green iguanas are known to turn orange during breeding season, experts say.

“Male green iguanas can grow to over five feet in length and weigh up to 17 pounds. Females can also reach five feet in length but usually do not exceed seven pounds,” the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission reports.

“Green iguanas typically mate in October through November in their native range, and nesting occurs on riverbanks, beaches and other sandy areas.”

This story was originally published November 12, 2024 at 8:03 AM with the headline "Watch as 4-foot invasive lizard jumps from tree into boat loaded with Florida hunters."