Dealing with exotic animals

Introduced creatures cause plenty of headaches

Charlotte Sun
Aug. 14, 2008

By NEIL HUGHES
Staff Writer

Win Sell knows first-hand the difference between an emu and an ostrich kick.

An emu, the North Port city animal control officer said, will cow-kick you from the side. The daring ostrich, on the other hand, will take you on face-to-face.

These are good things to know when you live in Florida and deal with exotic animals.

“Just don’t chase them from the front,” Sell said of both animals, “because they’ll knock the crap out of you.”

Welcome to Florida, an exotic haven for animals. Some, like the emu and ostrich, start out on farms. Others, such as the Mexican spinytail iguana or giant pythons in the Everglades, were pets. And some animals, like the Eastern coyote, are migrating here and making their presence felt.

“These species are wreaking havoc,” said Parker Hall, South Florida district supervisor for the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Exotic animals can cause all kinds of problems in the local ecosystem, especially if they have no natural competition. This is how giant pythons in the Everglades end up trying to eat alligators.

And they can be a major nuisance for residents, too. Take, for example, numerous complaints about iguanas getting into the attics and electrical wiring of homes. Or worse: coyotes eating small dogs and cats.

Luckily for Sell, ostriches and emus likely won’t be a rampant problem anytime soon. “They generally don’t make it across the interstate if they get loose,” he said.