lauattarian's Favorites

Spotted on bank of cattle pond and then scurried into the water. No fencing or containment.

Note: To clarify, all signs indicate this is either a

1. Uncontained pet on private property
2. Deliberately abandoned pet
3. Escaped pet that has managed to travel to this location (if this option, not likely to have travelled far due to rural setting with few homes spaced 1/4mile to 1 mile+ apart and scarce water sources)

I ordinarily don't like to photograph deceased animals, but this one was quite interesting, and I didn't see any other iNat sightings of pythons in Palmetto Bay, FL. The last time I recall a media report of a feral python in Palmetto Bay, was almost 10 years ago.

Date is approximate. 3 individuals (2 males & 1 female) seen sometime in April, 1987. My mother and father (@dmpeterson ) were living in Monteverde in the spring of 1987, staying with the Gavin family. I have been digitizing their old slides, and thought these ones were significant, so I uploaded them. The date and location are approximate, based on their best recollection.

Note: I did report this to the USDA who immediately and safely removed it.

I'm assuming it was an escaped pet, given how cold our winters get. It was approximately 3ft long to the tip of its tail, if I'm remembering correctly.

I think the snack was a rainbow scarab. The Anole looked very happy and calm eating the scarab.

Also, it appeared to be shedding some skin. And part of the tail was missing.

It seemed to be smaller than other knight anoles I've seen.

This series of shots shows three interactions of inverted flight as the adult dive bombs the young intruder and attempts to grasp talons on the first attack. The last shot shows the successful parent returning to the nest.

Juvenile observation: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/20779166

Adult in pursuit: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/20779169