Eating Invasive Lizards On Pine Island
Serious Eats pointed us to a story (subscription required) in the latest issue of the New Yorker about what a difficult time Florida is having fighting off invasive species, specifically the Burmese python. As regular readers of this blog know, this happens to be one of our favorite topics, particularly the idea of eating them to extinction. The article is an excellent, if a bit depressing, read, explaining in great detail how impossibly difficult it is to control an invasive species.
The final section of the article focuses on a new up-and-coming (and terrifying, we might add) invasive: the Nile monitor lizard, which has taken over a section of Southwest Florida near Cape Coral. They can grow up to seven feet long, are incredibly aggressive, and according to one biologist, can "tear off your cat's head with one twist," yet for some inexplicable reason, they used to be popular as pets. Most people are just trying to avoid confrontations with the massive lizards, but some are going a few steps farther:
People are actually eatin' 'em over at Pine Island," [Robin] Snyder said. "A guy I went to school with said they're pretty good."[New Yorker via Serious Eats]
Photo: Jeppestown/flickr
