Serious Eats
Eating Nile Monitors in Florida
Photograph from cliff1066 on Flickr
A story in this week's New Yorker (subscription required) points out that Florida is being beset by a nascent plague of invasive species. It's the consequence of a mid-'90s exotic-pet trend that fizzled out as overwhelmed python and lizard owners let loose growing and unmanageable reptiles. One such nasty-sounding beastie is the Nile monitor (Varanus niloticus):
...they are spectacular animals that make terrible pets. Up to seven feet long, with stout legs, tapered jaws, and skin that seems to be encrusted with semiprecious stones, Nile monitors are notoriously aggressive and ill-tempered. When cornered, a monitor will stand on its hind legs and hiss, inflating its body and lashing its tail like a bullwhip.
What are enterprising Floridians doing?
"People are actually eatin' 'em over at Pine Island," [Cape Coral schoolteacher Robin] Snyder said. "A guy I went to school with said they're pretty good."
Add the Nile monitor to a list of suburban game—along with squirrel and raccoon—showing up on tables as of late.