This Florida man is giving social media something to taco ’bout.
TikTok creator Gray Davis has gone viral with a series of videos documenting the “raining iguanas” phenomenon in Florida — and then eating them.
When the Sunshine State experiences unusually cold weather, the cold-blooded reptiles can wind down their systems to conserve energy, and almost literally freeze up in the process. As they stiffen, the iguana popsciles will topple from their perch onto the ground.
While they may look dead, the iguanas are technically alive and will literally thaw back to normal once the weather warms.
Despite the good news — they’re ok! — green iguanas are also considered an invasive species in South Florida, and thanks to the unseasonably cold weather, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) has temporarily allowed residents to remove and dispose of cold-stunned iguanas without a permit.
Year-round, the species can be captured and humanely killed without a permit or hunting license on 32 public lands in South Florida.
But rather than disposing of the animal, Davis has taken a different approach.
“Whenever we have these cold fronts and they start falling down, a lot of people will go out and collect them to help control the number in the population,” he said in the video with 3.5 million views.
“But they do have the nickname ‘chicken of the trees’ because they’re absolutely delicious. So rather than let this one go to waste, we’re going to make tacos.”
Davis showed off the iguana he chose to use to make tacos, but he chose not to show the process of humanely dispatching and cleaning the iguana for its meat.
He shared that he found 20 eggs inside the iguana, “so by removing this one iguana, we actually saved the environment from over 20 iguanas come spring.”
In addition to making the tacos, he also attempted to preserve the skin in an effort to reduce waste.
He started the process of making the tacos, simmering the iguana meat in a pot with onion, garlic, a bay leaf and some salt.
He then soft boiled the iguana eggs to blend with avocado, garlic cloves, olive oil, salt and lime juice to make a sauce.
Putting the cooked meat into a frying pan with his favorite seasonings, Davis let the meat get crispy before adding it to the taco shell.
“Now that right there is a Florida man taco,” he quipped. “If you can’t beat ’em, eat ’em.”
Viewers on TikTok were stunned themselves at Davis’ unorthodox taco recipe
“Sorry, you lost me at blending 20 iguana eggs in a blender to dip their mother’s body into,” wrote one agahst viewer.
“21 souls in one meal is crazy,” lamented another.
Davis was praised for his eco-conscious content, as one noted, “This is literally just living sustainably, and he’s protecting the environment.”
Davis made a video explaining ethical eating, and noted, “I totally get if you just won’t eat an iguana taco, everybody has their limits, that’s fine.”
“Rather than let the one that I found go to waste, I decided to make tacos,” he shared. “And I would argue that it’s the most ethical taco you could possibly have.”
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