What the hell is that Dad?

 Sunday, March 25th

Sunday was a big day,... two of my favorite entities met for the first time.

...my 4 month old Son Indy met Carl.

Indy and Carl

Here is a strange picture,...this is Carl with Sebastian, the French Kid who shot the arrow through his head.

(in the inflatable boat behind him)

Carl crouched down, actually "ducked" and drew closer to Indy, my wife and I when he drove by.

Carl with the French Assassin 

Carl has been "wearing"/exhibiting his old muted coloration, has a nice battle wound on the base of his tail, 

AND took his number two thrown yesterday?

...I wonder more and more, if he has lost /been beaten-down by some new Alpha Male.

Two factors cancel that conclusion, A; he only stays on the dock for a limited amount of time, the returns to the highest perch.

B; I have been scanning  the tree tops with binoculars night and day and have only seen Carl occupying   the highest roost, (Wilsons's old branch) with his royal subjects scattered at varying heights below him.
There are two larger Iguanas that I have seen for about a year, (still always below Wilson, and now Carl) I have never seen them come to the dock.
One of these could be challenging Carl with the "realization" (for lack of a better word), that Big Wilson is no longer around.
Carl is large, but not nearly the size of Wilson, (R.I.P.)

Carl sitting at his old desk

CARL

CARL;

This video is taken last June, (2011) just weeks before neighboring French teenagers would kill Wilson, (the reigning Alpha Male for years), and put an arrow straight through Carl's head.
 With a little TLC and human protection, i.e. triple antibiotic on his wounds daily, cutting up food into very small pieces so it could travel through his severely damaged, (pierced) throat, and threatening the French

......Carl survived and healed,  taking Wilson's place, (and coloration) as Alpha Male among the Slaughter.




http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QThxg1ZlO60

Carl just days after the teens shot an arrow through his head, the entrance wound is the dark spot just below the corner of his mouth.

The exit wound is straight through the Subtympanic Scale, on the other side, (the large false-eye scale, shown on this side intact just below and to the left of the entrance wound).

....I have no idea why the font became small and different either,.. I'm writing it, but apparently not in control.

Have a great day everyone- Iguana Dave

Thursday and Friday

Thursday, March 22nd 2012;
Great day, warm,...(temperature directly affects/effects the Iguana's metabolic rates,  thus,...activity).

The dock was packed, members would come and go all day, I could tell in the early morning that Carl was going to come over this day,..it was just too hot.

....and he did,..about an hour later,..cleared the dock,..all but Dotty fled the minuet he climbed out off the water.

Carl was "wearing" neutral colors,..his old coloration, anthropomorphically,..I would interpret this as him being "relaxed", OR he has been challenged and lost to a larger male, he does have a cut on the left side of his upper-tail, (that would be indicative of a fight)..but as I scanned his roost I saw no other, (large) iguanas,...AND as soon as he returned to his roost, his  Chromatophores lit up the bright orange and turquoise Alpha colors.
I would guesstimate that he was in a physical altercation,..and won.

The best part about Thursday was when Carl ate lettuce until he was full,..then walked past the food,..right up to me, (I was sitting "Indian-style" on the dock),..closed his eyes, as if to solicit/initiate some sort of communication, and/or physical contact.

I began petting him on the head,.. he just stood there with his eyes closed,...as he has done many times in the past,...again anthropomorphically,...I would say he seems to "like" this.

I know I shouldn't "play favorites",..but Carl is like no other Iguana I have ever met/observed/interacted-with.

If there is a lizard that actually enjoys the company of people, beyond food motivation,..your looking at him.

Friday,March 23rd;

Unfortunately I had to work away from home/the dock all day Friday, so I have absolutely no Intel.

I will be on the dock all weekend,  looks as though it's gonna be a hot one,...should be some action.

March 21st

Wednesday March 21st 2012;

Yesterday was a strange day,
I had to run into the "Adult Disney-Land for alcoholics " that is Key West Florida to pick up some supplies.

The thoughts and mind-set of collage days so far in my wake,...I Completely forget about Spring-Break.

I returned from a 4-hour trip that would normally have taken about an hour, after greeting my three girls, (Yellow Labs), human wife and son,..I headed to the dock.

 From my house I could see Dotty, Steve, and an adolescent near black Iguana with spines oriented "straight -up", (not "bending-back" or curving toward the tail as most other iguanas exhibit). 

Although I had not seen this animal for over 6 months,...I knew exactly who it was,...it was "Scott".

I had been thinking about him recently and wondering if I would ever see him again, Scott left sometime mid-last summer, was  MIA come fall, I feared he had been eaten by a Hawk, or met some other horrible demise.

He is larger, and will most likely exhibit a noticeable growth-spurt this summer

Scott's return 2012

I was happy to see this little lizard.

About an hour later I went back down and again, from a distance could see a larger Iguana I hadn't seen before.

Dotty,Scott, and Blue were there, no sign of Steve,..and this strange new Iguana was dropping it's dewlap, (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dewlap) and head-bobbing at Dotty and Blue.

This Is a strangely patterned animal, almost looks related to Carl, however I believe this to be a larger, female.
If she decides to stick around...could mean trouble for a few of the smaller iguanas.

Blue is in the foreground and the new stranger, (fringe Iguana) in back with dewlap extended,..she was "bobbing" at Blue, then charged him/her, (I am not sure of  Blue's sex).

In all of my years observing these lizards, I can tell you one thing,... there is nothing more aggressive as a large female, males will put on elaborate displays changing color, puffing-up and bobbing their heads, etc,..but will rarely, attack and bite like a female.
The girls give a quick warning and then charge with intent to do harm.

It will be interesting to see if she comes back to the dock today.

Monday and Tuesday

18th+19th

Monday; quiet,... Steve only all day.

Tuesday; (yesterday) Steve, Dotty, and one of last yeas's hatch-lings I don't/didn't recognize,...very skittish.

Based on markings and size, I suspect he is a relative/nest-mate of the one we call "Todd".

Lazy Sunday

Steve was here most of the morning,...but was gone around 1:00PM.

There hasn't been a  single Iguana since, witch is unusual,... I attribute this to the "Snow-Bird",(Snow-Birds; part time/winter residence,..usually old, rich, crotch-ity white people) commotion being created across the canal, George from N.J. has been tuning-up and revving his two large, (2-stroke) outboards out of the water with a hose to the H2O intake all afternoon.

It's load, I don't even want to be out there right now.

When the Snow-Birds leave, (around May)...the canal is ours,...til somewhere around Thanksgiving.

We are praying the French house will be sold to Snow-Birds,...however, ANYTHING, any situation, any family will be better than these horrible, arrogant, disgusting French people.
They/their house were the only other full-time residence.

This is a shot under the dock last evening, these are "Giant Mithrax Crab"s, also known as "Channel Clinging Crabs", "Reef Spider Crabs", "King-Crab",and "Coral Crab".

They are in just about every Marine Ecosystem down here, from my relatively stagnant high-nutrient back yard canal, to the reef itself, and beyond to deeper areas.

They are LARGE, the carapace itself can measure 7-8 inches side-to-side.

MARCH 16th+17th

Friday was a big day at the Dock;

Steve, Dotty, Blue, Todd, and "Stubby", (one of last year's fringe hatch-lings that had lost his tail) were hanging out together and in shifts.

"Stubby" returned Friday as a small adolescent iguana with a good portion of his tail grown-back. 

Steve never left, and Carl never showed,...at least from what I saw, however I was working and could only observe periodically.

SATURDAY MARCH 17TH;

Again I had to work and was only down on the dock every couple hours to see what was going on.

Steve, Dotty and some "mystery hatchling" I had never seen before were the only iguanas around.

This mystery-hatchling has a recognizable physical abnormality,... appears to have a big lump or bump on his back as if he had broken it, (his/her back) and it has healed ,..or something like that,...he/she ran away fast each time I approached,....it doesn't appear to be effecting his mobility.

I will refer to this hatch-ling as "Lumpy",..and will try to get a pic as soon as I can catch him, (with the camera).

Steve has been hanging out from sunrise-to-sunset everyday since he arrived except for a small period of time last week when Carl arrived.

As I had predicted,..he has claimed Carl's old, "second-in-command" thrown as his own 

 RETURN OF THE KING


Went down for coffee on the dock kind-of early , (for the Iguanas), and there was Steve.
I left Romaine for him and returned to the house, I looked down just a few minuets later and could see him, and Dotty chowing-down (she must have been in the Sea-Grape tree next to the dock,...I didn't see her).

Handsome Steve this morning, (3.15.2012)

A couple hours later,  just before noon ,..Steve and Dotty were still there when I brought more Romaine to the feeding-station/area in the Tiki-Hut.

I had to drop the food and run for my neighbor, was waiting for me to help him move a boat trailer (not the horrible French neighbors,..the good Canadians).Just as we were done with the trailer I heard a large splash,

it came from just in front of my dock.

I hurried back to my property, walked to the water,..and, as I suspected,......Steve was gone, (I had heard him jump in, and swim away).

The King had return to claim his dock,..today was the day.

Carl returned to the dock today, the first time in over 4 months.

He jumped up on the Crab-trap, and I was feeding him by hand within about a minuet,..as if we never missed a day/beat.

It seems my relationship with Carl has not changed,... Carl and Steve's however?

I'm not sure I will ever see them together on the dock again.

We will see,..I hope I am wrong.

I went back to the dock around 3:00PM,...Steve was there alone.

...and it begins 3.14.2012

RETURN OF THE IGUANA

I'd been pondering a blog/online"Dock-Diary" about the the Iguanas, my life with them, and other wildlife, (humans included) for some time,...years in fact.
Thought I may get to it during this 2011/2012 winter, while the "Slaughter" went into there "Thermo-regulated, semi-hibernation".
(Not a true hibernation, but a seasonal  "slow-down" due to the winter, (November-March) low temperatures).
Just kept putting it off,... last until last Monday, (March 5th 2012).
It was the "kick-off" of the 2012 season, and I wasn't prepared,..I wanted the Dock-Diary to be in place prior to.

Went to the dock Monday morning, as I do everyday, and to my pleasant surprise,...Lady,...my first "regular" to return to the dock since Thanksgiving was sun-bathing in her usual spot.

Did not have my phone/camera:  photo; last summer 2011.

Lady originally showed up at the dock during a strange time of year, (mid-summer) 2007, just a few months after Handsome Steve and Carl made their first appearance.

                                                Handsome Steve, (left), and Carl, (right)

These three iguanas eat out of my hand, jump up into my lap, and/or allow me to hold them, for short periods....most others jump into the water, if you come within 20 feet, and swim to safety.

I use the word "my"  in the sentence "my first regular" not to delineate ownership, but in the way a bartender would refer to his customers, these are wild animals that simply associate my presence, and property as a "free lunch".

I like to think there is more to it, especially with the three above.

Tuesday, (3.6.2012) head of  Romain in hand,   on my way to the dock, (excited due to Lady sighting) I looked down from my deck, ...I could recognize the siluet of this animal from a mile away,...it was "Handsome Steve" the oldest regular I know,..I have interacted with, fed, and some days simply "hung-out" with this Iguana for over 5 years to-date.

As I approached , I immediately noticed differences,..Steve had been morphing into the colors of  "Beta Male", his festive name-sake colors and pattern, have faded into a muted army green, and orange has begun to creep into his color scheme.

As Carl had done for  years as  Beta, Steve will most likely claim the thrown of second in command,...the picnic table.



Wednesday; (3.7.2012)
"Nedrick" returned,...Ned/Rick is another Beta Male, and could be second (or third) to the thrown,... does not roost with the majority, he and "Dotty" roost separate from the slaughter to the west, (to the right as you face the water) in a small cluster of Buttonwood Trees.

Thursday; (3.8.2012)
Dotty returned,..... much larger.... she has changed from a large hatch-ling to an adolescent iguana over the winter months.

Friday, (3.9.2012)
 "Blue" returned,...again, like Dotty,... noticeably larger for being gone only 3 months.

For the next three days, (Sat the 10th-12th) the dock was visited by each of these iguanas, individually and in combinations, until yesterday,, (Tuesday the 13th)...a  hatching we called "Todd" who showed up late last year, (September-November), appeared exhibiting the largest growth-spurt I have ever observed.

Todd has exhibited the same "lack of fear", (of humans),..or food-motivation that out-weighs fear as Steve, Carl, and Lady,...I hand fed him once the end of last season. 

Today, we only saw Steve and Dotty, both stayed the whole day.

My wife, newborn son, and I sat with them for a long time,...it  was the first time my 4-month old had seen these animals,...his eyes were wide with amazement.

Carl has yet to come down from his roost.

He will be the last to arrive because of his new role as Alpha Male.

He has a job to do,... watching over and defending his end of the canal, his territory,...keeping the fringe "outsider iguanas" away from his women, feeding grounds, and rest of the slaughter, even the other males of his group, ...he knows their rank and they his, so to be satellited by these large, (but lesser) males is simply extra protection.