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Posted by desiree on October 01, 2002 at 12:03:54:
Work site iguana not science lab escapee
By TOM ALEX
Register Staff Writer
10/01/2002
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Experts say an iguana found near a Des Moines school under renovation is not the same legendary lizard that allegedly escaped from a science laboratory a few years ago.
The iguana, estimated at 2 feet long, popped up about the time walls were being ripped out of Callanan Middle School a few weeks ago. Word spread that it was the same creature that had disappeared from a science class, and that it had been living in the walls, perhaps feeding on cockroaches.
Fred Janzen, associate professor of zoology and genetics at Iowa State University, said an iguana could not live long in the walls of a school.
"An iguana needs serious sun and serious warmth," he said. "They have fairly narrow requirements that are not easily met in this environment."
Gary Houdeshell, construction manager for the school project, said the trees and fence around 3010 Center St. have been the unnamed iguana's home. Callanan students have been attending class at the former Kurtz Junior High School building, 1000 Porter Ave., while their building undergoes a $3.5 million remodeling project.
Callanan's principal, Vincent Lewis, even has doubts about the escape tale.
Runaway or unwanted iguanas are common in Des Moines, said police Sgt. Max Halverson. One was turned in Monday at the Des Moines animal shelter, which has had four or five at a given time.
"They are common pets, and they get too big, and sometimes people don't want them any more," Janzen said.
He said iguanas, which eat mostly fruits and vegetables, move slowly when they are cool. Once outdoors and heated up, they are capable of remarkable speed, and they often head for treetops, he said.
At the Callanan construction site, workers continue to see the iguana in the trees and around the site. If it remains outdoors, it likely will fall from the treetops at the first hard freeze, Janzen said.
