ATLANTA (Gray News) – There’s yet another creature to haunt dreams in the middle of a pandemic.
Georgia officials are working to eradicate an invasive lizard species from South American called the black and white tegus.
They can grow up to about 4 feet in length and can eat "just about anything they want,” according to John Jensen, a biologist with the Wildlife Conservation Section at Georgia Department of Natural Resources.
The lizards pose a major threat to some of the state's native wildlife.
“One of their favorite foods is eggs from ground-nesting animals such as gopher tortoise — our protected state reptile,” Jensen said. “Birds, including turkeys and quail.”
They also eat fruit, vegetables, insects, pet food and small animals.
“These large lizards are voracious predators that have been found consuming a variety of native wildlife in the longer-established Florida populations,” according to the Orianne Society, a conservation group.
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