Florida
Razor-clawed carnivorous invasive reptiles spreading in South Florida pose bigger threat than iguanas, officials say
They swim with paddle-like tails, climb trees using hooked claws and hunt on land. Nile monitor lizards, powerful carnivores that can grow longer than six feet, are spreading through South Florida, earning a reputation from wildlife officials as one of the most dangerous invasive reptiles in the state.
Data show sightings have grown significantly in recent years, particularly in the Florida Peninsula, where entire neighborhoods in Cape Coral are now considered their established habitat.
According to EDDMapS data, Lee County, in the Tampa Bay area, leads the state with 1,616 reported sightings, followed by Palm Beach County with 299, Miami-Dade with 76, and Broward with 68.
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission classified the Nile monitor as an invasive species and added it to Florida’s Prohibited species list in April 2021.
Where do Nile monitors come from? And how did they get to Florida?
The Nile monitor is a semi-aquatic lizard native to sub-Saharan Africa. It is the largest lizard species in Africa, and according to the U.S. Geological Survey, the largest and most dangerous non-native lizard established in the United States.
Adults can stretch more than 7.5 feet long and weigh over 20 pounds, according to USGS. FWC said a typical adult in Florida averages about 5 feet and roughly 15 pounds.
They’re olive green to black with yellow striping on the head and jaw. Their tails are long and flattened like a paddle, which experts say helps them swim. They can stay underwater for 12 to 15 minutes and are just as comfortable climbing trees as they are moving through canals.
USGS said they’re also smart, adaptable and highly mobile, traits that make invasive species especially difficult to control.
In Africa, Nile monitors are found throughout much of the continent, especially near rivers, wetlands and lakes.
In Florida, wildlife officials believe most populations stem from the pet trade.
According to FWC and USGS, monitors likely arrived through escaped or intentionally released pets. They can break out of cages using their claws or push open enclosures. Some may have escaped during hurricanes that damaged reptile facilities. Others may have been released when they became too large or difficult to handle.
Once established near canals and waterways, they found ideal habitat. South Florida’s extensive canal system essentially acts like a highway network for a semi-aquatic reptile, experts say.
Why are Nile monitors considered dangerous?
Nile monitors are powerful wild predators that are generally not aggressive toward people unless cornered, wildlife experts said.
FWC described them as “generalist feeders,” meaning they eat almost anything they can overpower. That includes fish, frogs, turtles, snakes, birds and their eggs, small mammals and even young crocodiles.
Because they raid nests, they pose a risk to protected species such as sea turtles, gopher tortoises, burrowing owls and the American crocodile, according to FWC and USGS.
USGS noted their size and defensive behavior make them potentially dangerous to pets and, if cornered, to humans. They can bite with strong jaws, slash with sharp claws or whip their muscular tails.
FWC warned residents not to attempt to capture them.
In Cape Coral, where the largest known population exists, residents have reported monitors digging burrows along canal banks and roaming residential streets.
“There are a lot of invasive monitors, especially in our neighborhood,” Cape Coral resident Jack Schwartz told local television station WZVN on Feb. 20.
Alane Passero described one running inside her home.
“[Out of the] corner of my eye, I see this huge monster running in my house straight to the back door. The nails are clacking on the floor. I’m screaming my head off,” she said.
Florida Nile monitors vs. green iguanas
South Florida residents are used to seeing green iguanas, especially after cold snaps. But Nile monitors are a different animal.
Green iguanas are mostly plant-eaters. Nile monitors are carnivores that actively hunt vertebrate prey.
Monitors are bulkier, with longer necks, narrower snouts and thicker, more muscular tails. They also have a blue tongue, a distinctive trait noted by USGS.
And while iguanas can grow large, no native or commonly seen lizard in Florida approaches the Nile monitor’s size and strength.
Where are Nile monitor sightings growing the most in Florida?
According to EDDMapS:
- Lee County: 1,616 sightings
- Palm Beach County: 299
- Miami-Dade: 76
- Broward: 68
USGS stated the species is firmly established in Lee County and spreading into Charlotte County. FWC confirmed established populations in Lee and Palm Beach counties, with additional reports across South Florida.
Recent confirmed sightings include:
- Cape Coral in Lee County, Aug. 7, 2025
- Boynton Beach in Palm Beach, Sept. 10, 2025
- Broward, Jan. 16, 2024
- Miami-Dade, Nov. 19, 2021
While some counties report isolated individuals, experts caution that single sightings should not automatically be dismissed as escaped pets.
Can Florida stop the spread of Nile monitor lizards?
Florida wildlife experts say full eradication is no longer considered feasible, according to USGS and researchers at the University of Florida.
FWC actively removes Nile monitors from known populations and encourages residents to report sightings through the IveGot1 app or by calling 888-483-4681.
The reptiles can be humanely killed on private property without a permit. The City of Cape Coral operates a local trapping program, and federal partners manage populations at Homestead Air Reserve Base.
For now, wildlife officials say early reporting is key.
And for South Florida residents, the message is simple: if you see what looks like a small dinosaur near your canal, don’t approach it — take a photo and call it in.
Florida
Florida college Republicans group chat reveals racist texts: ‘Avoid the coloreds like the plague’
It only took three weeks for a group chat for conservative students at Florida International University (FIU) to become a place where participants eagerly used racist slurs, prompting widespread condemnation from community leaders.
Abel Alexander Carvajal, secretary of Miami-Dade county’s Republican party and a student at FIU’s College of Law, reportedly started the chat after the killing of Charlie Kirk, the founder of Turning Point USA, in September 2025.
But on Wednesday, the Miami Herald published leaked WhatsApp conversations in which the college Republicans made racist, sexist, antisemitic and homophobic comments, including variations of the N-word used more than 400 times. Knowledge of the chat’s existence was revealed on the same day that Republican lawmakers in Florida pushed forward a bill to rename a one-mile stretch of road alongside FIU in honor of Kirk.
William Bejerano, who the Herald noted once tried to start an anti-abortion group at Miami Dade College, was the most prolific user of the N-word. Using the slur, Bejerano called for dozens of acts of extreme violence against Black people, including crucifying, beheading and dissecting.
Dariel Gonzalez, then the College Republicans’ recruitment chair, who has recently applied to become a GOP committee member, responded to the calls for violence by saying: “How edgy.” He repeatedly used “colored” to describe Black people, including writing: “Ew you had colored professors?!” and “Avoid the coloreds like the plague,” according to the Herald.
Carvajal, who was appointed to a two-year role on the city of Hialeah’s planning and zoning board earlier this year, confirmed to the paper that the group chat was his doing, but he denied knowledge of the problematic comments until the publication contacted him about its logs last week.
“It’s been five months since this was sent and this is the first time I’ve seen this message,” Carvajal told the Herald.
“I guess to an extent, I bear some responsibility, cause I created a chat. But if I had seen this at the moment, I would have removed [Bejerano] from the chat. I probably would have even blocked his number.”
The Herald found that Carvajal had deleted 14 messages sent by other participants in the chat and 42 of his own messages before the publication obtained the chat’s logs.
He also participated in some of the racist discussions. While referring to a Black student who allegedly left FIU’s College Republicans after a member of the group “called her a [N-word]”, the Floridian reported that Carvajal wrote: “Why didn’t miggress leave?” Elsewhere in the chat, the publication reported that Carvajal used “Miggress”, “Migglet” and “Migger” to refer to Black women, Black children and Black people, in general.
At one point, Gonzalez wrote: “You can fuck all the [K-word, a slur for Jewish people] you want. Just don’t marry them and procreate.”
Ian Valdes, the Turning Point USA FIU chapter president, responded, “I would def not marry a Jew,” before changing the group chat’s name from “Uber [R-word slur for disabled people] Yapping” to “Gooning in Agartha”. “Gooning” is a gen-Z slang term for male masturbation, while “Agartha” is a mythical white civilization promoted by Heinrich Himmler, one of the most powerful leaders in Nazi Germany next to Hitler.
Gonzalez reportedly described Agartha to the group chat as “Nazi heaven sort of”.
Kevin Cooper, the first Jewish chair of the Miami Dade Republican party, condemned the group chat in a statement published to X and called for Carvajal’s resignation.
“The majority of our board voted to request Carvajal’s resignation. We have commenced removal proceedings and look forward to resolution from the Republican Party of Florida,” he wrote.
That call was echoed by Juan Porras, a Republican state representative and Miami-Dade GOP state committee member, who said in a statement: “Leadership carries responsibility. When someone in a leadership role engages in this kind of behavior, it damages the trust placed in our party by voters across Florida. For that reason, I am asking the Miami Dade Republican party secretary to step down from this position.”
In a joint statement, Florida Republican state senators Alexis Calatayud, Ileana Garcia and Ana Maria Rodriguez denounced the chats and called for the expulsion from party leadership of its participants.
“The individuals in the group chat have exposed how profoundly misaligned their beliefs are to the views of the Republican party of Florida,” their statement said. “We call for the immediate expulsion of the individuals disseminating from any level of leadership of the Miami-Dade Republican Party … We will not tolerate bigotry or discrimination.”
Multiple leaked group chats from young Republicans have created controversy in recent years.
Last year, Politico published messages from a group chat of more than 100 conservatives across the country in which users also made racist and antisemitic comments. In 2022, a Young Republican group chat from North Dakota was revealed as a cesspool of homophobic and antisemitic rhetoric.
Florida
Federal judge blocks DeSantis executive order declaring CAIR a 'terrorist organization'
Florida
Gas prices rise in South Florida amid U.S. and Israel’s conflict with Iran, as the stock market also reports a dip
Four days into the Iranian conflict, gas prices are rising at many stations in South Florida.
“I’ve traveled all over the United States,” says Stacey Williams. CBS Miami spoke to him as he was gassing up on the turnpike. He paid $66 for 20 gallons of diesel to fill his pickup truck. Williams has noted the fluctuations in fuel as he drives to locations for his work on turbines. He just spent three weeks at the Turkey Point Nuclear Power Plant south of Miami.
“The salary we get paid per hour does not add up to what we pay for gas, housing, and food,” he says.
Mitchell Gershon is also dealing with the higher gas prices. He has to fill three vehicles constantly for his business—Thrifty Gypsy, a pop-up store at musical venues. He’s back and forth from Orlando to Miami and says fuel is costing him 20% more. When asked how he handles these fluctuations, he said, “Have a little backup cash so you are ready for it.”
The rise in oil prices contributed to a drop in the stock market on Tuesday, which means some retirement accounts dipped, too. CBS Miami talked to Chad NeSmith, director of investments at Tobias Financial Advisors in Plantation, for perspective on the drop.
“We are seeing most of the pullback today. Yesterday was a shock,” he says. He’s not expecting runaway oil prices but says investors should stay in the loop: “Pay attention to your portfolio. Stick to your goals. Have a plan because these things are completely unpredictable.”
That unpredictability has Williams adjusting his budget. “You just cut back, cut corners, all you can do,” he says.
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