Georgia wildlife agency seeking reports of invasive lizards

April 11th, 2022

tegu lizard — A black and white Tegu lizard sticks out its tongue at the Yebo Gogga exhibition at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg Wednesday, May 13, 2015. (AP Photo/Denis Farrell)

Georgia’s wildlife agency is asking residents to report sightings of an invasive lizard that can pose a threat to native species.

The state Department of Natural Resources is trying to locate and remove South American tegus from Georgia before the lizards can thrive in greater numbers. So far, the state’s only known wild population has been found in Toombs and Tattnall counties in southeast Georgia.

Wildlife officials hope to stop the black and white lizards from spreading further. They can grow up to 4 feet (1.2 meters) long and weight up to 10 pounds (4.5 kilograms), and have a wide-ranging appetite that favors eggs of turtles, alligators and ground-nesting birds.

“They can live almost anywhere and eat almost anything,” Daniel Sollenberger, a DNR wildlife biologist, said in a news release.

“We are focusing our efforts to accomplish two goals: document the extent of where tegus occur in the wilds of southeast Georgia and remove those animals as soon as we can after they are detected,” Sollenberger said. “With area residents, hunters and other folks helping us keep an eye out for and controlling tegus, we are cautiously optimistic we can control this population.”

Officials aren’t sure how tegus got introduced into the wild in Georgia, but they are commonly kept as pets.

Last year the DNR removed a single tegu that was spotted on a game camera and later captured in a trap. Seven were collected, both dead and alive, in 2020.

Wildlife officials warn if tegus become established in the wild, they will be nearly impossible to eradicate. Wild populations have also been found in South Carolina and Florida. Trapping at one site along Everglades National Park can yield hundreds of the lizards each season.