‘Oh my God!’ Video of iguana falling into school of tarpon in Florida Keys goes viral
An iguana caught a lucky break in the Florida Keys late last month, but it was touch and go for a while.
In widely shared video, first posted by Islamorada based charter boat captain Justin Miller on Oct. 26, an iguana is seen going about its business, hanging out on a rope by a docked boat. A school of large tarpon swim right below the critter.
The iguana, perhaps spooked by the camera, suddenly jumps off the rope, where a bunch of the fish begin a feeding frenzy.
Off camera, a man screams, “Oh man, almost got him!” Then as the iguana lands in one tarpon’s mouth, the same man laughs nervously, “Oh, a tarpon just ate him! Oh my God! That was awesome! They took him down! Live bait!”
In the caption, Miller, who operates out of Bud N’ Mary’s Marina, tells his followers that the iguana somehow survived the attack and swam back to the boat after all the drama.
The Instagram peanut gallery had a field day; comments were mixed. Some people felt sorry for the reptile; others just saw nature doing its thing.
“Still going. He’s a fighter.”
“Cameraman ruined that lizard’s day.”
“That iguana is a champ.”
“How mean you people are,” complained someone in Spanish.
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For those who felt sorry for the chomped-on iguana, Miller was not sympathetic.
“He was set free to eat all or our native trees which they are destroying,” said his caption. “They are an invasive species in our area, so don’t feel bad, people.”
And for those of you wondering how the iguana — very likely hurting after that ferocious battle — survived, it’s because tarpon, though they have strong jaws and enormous mouths, have very tiny teeth.
This story was originally published November 11, 2022 at 1:57 PM.
