Over recent decades Florida has become the dumping ground by every exotic pet owner from, aquatic pet shop buyer, to children flushing their little alligator pets down the toilet, to even more dangerous species who’ve been introduced without oversight or any environmental impact study. As a result we have the indigenous wildlife beginning to disappear thanks to predators who have no natural controls to keep them from becoming the menaces they are in the Florida Everglades and even town neighborhoods!

There is now evidence of as many as 8 species of monitor lizards that have been inadvertently released into the Florida landscape! Monitor Lizards are of a variety that includes the infamous Komodo dragon of the Pacific! Monitor Lizards are quite capable predators that can climb trees, raid the eggs of other animals, and decimate a number of mammals that inhabit the swamps just as the Burmese Python was causing an imbalance due to its rapid population growth and appetite for native species such as raccoons, possums, foxes, deer, and even alligators! Due to the massive egg laying by females, Burmese Pythons spread even to the yards of residences possibly threatening dogs and their owners! Yet, something began causing an unexpected reduction in the python population!

There are 8 known species of monitor lizards that have been released into the Florida swamps, a perfect environment for these aggressive reptiles, but there is an alarming twist now! There has been even more of a dangerous development! Komodo Dragons may have been dumped in Florida and are adapting quite well! This could be a catastrophe if a population is allowed to expand and control the indigenous species already under assault by other invasive species that could alter the course of the Florida animal kingdom as well as sporting activities! By the time a viable population begins to show itself, it’s already too late and only a limited amount of human intervention will conduct token control of an epidemic outbreak of invasive species without resorting to destructive measures that could cause environmental impact as even damage to the original animals of the habitat such as poisoning, massive hunting, electrocution by boat transmission, as these non-discriminating attempts kill all species not just the invasive variety! What monitor lizards have done is to kill the nest eggs laid by Burmese python females which rapidly destroys reproductive growth!

Monitor lizards get to about 6 feet in length but some grow larger. A Komodo dragon can reach 12 feet or better and weigh 1,000 pounds-a very bad surprise for fishermen or recreational fans out for a good time in the Everglades. Possessing a terrible bite force, clawed feet for ripping and tearing, along with a poisonous saliva, and you have a real nuisance in your environment as well as a deadly predator! Komodo’s are known to be voracious hunters that can hunt one of its prey for days if hungry enough! Could the Florida habitat survive another invasive species that could further alter animal population and even threaten people? Considering the past and the success of prior invasive species? For certain!