Georgia Argentine Tegu Invasion: State Officials Burying Reports of Carnivorous Lizards in Suburban Pipes
This is off-the-record, so listen close. Sources deep inside the wildlife task force confirm the Argentine tegu population in Georgia has exploded beyond published estimates—by at least 400% in the last quarter. They're not just surviving in the Okefenokee; they're burrowed into suburban storm drains, feeding on feral cat colonies and dog food left on porches. A leaked environmental impact draft, dated three weeks ago, admits tegus now account for 12% of all nuisance animal calls in four southern counties. But the official press release says "stable." Why? Because a full admission would trigger a federal emergency declaration tied to agricultural exports. The lizards are displacing native gopher tortoises, and at least one private tracking team has filmed a tegu dragging a juvenile armadillo into a drainage pipe—footage they were warned not to release. The public knows the name, but not the scale. This is a silent crawl north.