'Iguana My Electricity Back! ' A Trespassing Lizard Shuts Down a Florida City The reptile crawled into an electric substation, and fireworks ensued.
By Jonathan Small •
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Grilled iguana is a delicacy in some South American countries, but in Lake Worth, Florida, it's just a major headache.
On Wednesday, an iguana crawled into an electric substation in the small city just south of Palm Beach and caused a major power failure.
Lake Worth Beach Utility tweeted that "a large-scale outage caused by an iguana had paralyzed the South Eastern part of the city.
LWB Electric Utility is currently responding to a large scale outage caused by an iguana at our 6th Ave Substation. This outage is effecting customers in the South East area of our service territory. Our teams are working hard to repair the damage and restore the system. pic.twitter.com/by3FwTjCoE
— Lake Worth Beach (@LakeWorthBchPBC) December 7, 2022
According to reports, the iguana's tail accidentally hit a transformer, causing the grid and the unfortunate iguana to fry.
Power was restored within a half hour, but local residents took to Twitter to complain.
"Iguana my electricity baaaaack!" wrote Backspace records.
Iguana my electricity baaaaack!
— Backspace Records (@BackspaceRec) December 7, 2022
Related: This Solar-Powered Florida Town Was Built to Withstand Hurricanes. Did It Work?
A persistent problem
Green Iguanas are not native to Florida and are therefore considered an "invasive" species in the area due to their impact on native wildlife, including, in this case, humans.
They were first introduced to the state back in 1960 and have multiplied in population. While Iguanas are not aggressive creatures, their digging can cause a lot of damage to landscapes, sea walls, sidewalks, and homes.
This is not the first time iguanas have messed with Lake Worth Beach.
City spokesman Ben Kerr told local station WPTV that there have been three instances where iguanas have tangled with power stations.
The city has erected barriers to prevent this from happening, but they don't always work.
"The problem with the iguana is because they're so big, they basically drive over lines," he said.
