Georgia wildlife officials are warning of a rise in the number of tegus, which are huge, invasive lizards from Argentina that have for years been spreading throughout the American South. Officials say sightings are becoming increasingly common in parts of Georgia, and they are asking for the public’s help in disposing of the giant, black-and-white lizards.
Although tegus aren’t as big or abundant as the Burmese pythons found in South Florida, they are still monsters relative to native lizards. The biggest tegus can reach four feet in length, or about the size of some dogs. As with pythons, the concerns around tegus stem from the outsized impacts they can have on native food webs.
“Tegus will eat the eggs of ground-nesting birds — including quail and turkey — and other reptiles, such as American alligators and gopher tortoises,” the Georgia Department of Natural Resources warns. “They will also eat chicken eggs, fruit, vegetables, plants, pet food, carrion and small live animals.”
The first tegus were seen in Georgia in 2014, and neighboring Florida has had a self-sustaining wild population of tegus since at least 2008. Just like many other invasive species, they arrived in the Sunshine State through the exotic pet trade. Most of the tegus found in the wild today are thought to be the descendants of escaped (or illegally released) pets.
Georgia officials don’t have any estimates for the number of tegus currently in the state. But they say reports of the big lizards are now becoming more common, and they’re warning of “an uptick” in the number of recent sightings. According to an interactive map maintained by the University of Georgia, there have been at least 56 sightings over the last few years, with the highest number of sightings recorded in Tattnall (16) and Toombs (10) counties.
“It’s very difficult to find one of them, much less count enough of them,” Georgia DNR biologist Daniel Sollenberger reportedly told news media over the weekend. “There’s probably more possums than there are tegus, but fewer coyotes [than tegus.]”
If accurate, Sollenberger’s estimate would translate to an astounding number of tegus. Georgia is home to hundreds of thousands of coyotes, and a recent study found more than one coyote for every square mile at a site near the Savannah River.
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Sollenberger said the DNR is asking the public to kill and report any tegus they find. These lizards can be legally trapped and killed year-round on private property, according to the agency, but additional rules apply when hunting or trapping the invasive lizards on the state’s wildlife management areas. Members of the public can also sumbit reports and photographs of tegus through the state’s Invasive Species Task Force.
“That is what people need to do if we’re going to try to control or contain this infestation,” Sollenberger said.