TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — As green iguanas proliferate across southern Taiwan, over 200 have been captured in Chiayi County over the past month.
With the invasive species rapidly multiplying in Chiayi County, a team of volunteers has started hunting the arboreal lizards with slingshots. On Dec. 13, one of the hunters, Yuan An-nan (袁安男), posted images of their haul on Facebook.
In the post, Yuan wrote that the iguanas are continuing to increase in number despite the ongoing hunting campaign. In the Facebook group 嘉義綠豆大小事, Yuan wrote that over the past month he has assisted in the capture of more than 200 along the Bazhang River, with some hunters suffering minor injuries in the process.
Yuan predicts the iguanas will continue to relentlessly rise in number and soon occupy the entire Bazhang River basin. He said that this month is a good time to catch the cold-blooded critters because it is currently their breeding season.
Yuan said many iguanas have been captured near Yongqinyihao Bridge in Chiayi's Shuishang Township. As he is familiar with the local terrain, he often guides hunters as they round up the herbivorous lizards.
Captured iguanas. (Facebook, Yuan An-nan photo)
The hunter said that recently, vegetable farmers have often reported significant losses after green iguanas ate their produce. After hearing of an iguana sighting, the team deploys to the area and shoots the creatures with slingshots loaded with steel balls, which knock the lizards unconscious.
He says they then tie them up and send them to relevant government agencies or take them back themselves for processing. As for whether some people eat the iguanas, he wrote: "They taste good, but I don't recommend you eat them."
Yuan said that in general, iguanas do not attack if not provoked. However, if an untrained person tries to catch one, it will whip its tail and bite. He claimed their claws are as "sharp as eagle talons."
Yuan advises anyone who is injured by an iguana to quickly disinfect the wound and have it properly treated. He said an adult green iguana can lay 40 to 70 eggs per year and that the embankments and weeds along the Bazhang River are the perfect breeding ground for the creatures, with sightings in Shuishang, Zhongpu, and Zhuqi townships.
