june-2011

GEORGE CERA MEETING WITH THE LOCALS ON BOCA GRANDE; AND VISITING HIS GIRLFRIEND, CINDY CRESPO, AT A LOCAL SHOP
“I don’t believe in killing for sport,” he says. “I always
tell my kids, if you’re gonna kill something, you’d be er
be planning on eating it.”
The people of Central and South America have used
the iguana as a food source for centuries, referring
to it as gallina de palo or “tree chicken.” (Beyond the
supposedly similar fl avor, the ctenosaur’s mannerisms—
head bobbing and cocking—are uncannily henlike.) The
lizard was so important to the diet of Central and South
Americans that the Catholic Church long ago reclassifi ed
the iguana as a fi sh, permi ing its consumption on
Fridays and religious holidays.
“When I read that, I thought, ‘What a waste,’” says Cera.
“I’d been just throwing them away. I started to compile
recipes that I found and fi gured out some stuff of my own,
basically substituting iguana meat for chicken.”
The recipes, along with some observations about
invasive iguanas became a book: Save Florida, Eat an
Iguana! that Cera wrote and self-published.
Not content to let me take his word on how delicious
iguanas can be, Cera calls up the South Beach Bar and
Grille to see if the chef would be up for lending his
gastronomic fl air to the fi ve lizards we now have on ice.
The chef has recently found success with beer-ba ered
“gator wings” and is more than happy to research other
novelty items for the bar menu.
Cera hands the catch over to the eager chef, and soon
lunch arrives in the form of ctenosaur tacos. Even in
among the cilantro, papaya and shredded queso, my
senses are relaying that I’m not eating chicken. It’s quite
delicious, though I’m slightly relieved that the chef chose
not to serve it on the bone.
A year or so a er Cera arrived on Gasparilla, native
birds like scrub jays begin to return, and the gardens are
in full bloom. Locals who were less than welcoming to
Cera at fi rst even went so far as to off er personal apologies
for how they’d treated him when he fi rst arrived. In fact,
his program may have been too successful. The USDA is
planning to take over and study the remaining population,
and the town is considering discontinuing his services.
Cera thinks this is a mistake.
“Here’s the reality: At some point you have to stop
studying them and start killing them,” says Cera. “And we
passed that point a long, long time ago.”
The discussion in Boca Grande is whether governmental
organizations or private contractors like George Cera are
more eff ective at keeping invasive species’ numbers in
check. Kristina Serbesoff -King and her colleague, Dr. Meg
Lowman, think that the best results will be achieved when
both are working in concert.
“Private contractors are integral to invasive control,” says
Serbesoff -King. “They have worked hand in glove with
agencies throughout Florida. Yes, they are being paid to
implement control eff orts, but they are also sharing their
lessons learned with the larger group.”
Serbesoff -King is the cochair of the Florida Invasive
Species Partnership, fl oridainvasives.org. The website is
a way for information on invasive species to be shared
and acted upon in Florida. It’s proved a useful tool
in protecting Florida’s natural species. “The way that
people have been coming together to help combat this
problem has helped keep me thinking positively about
the task ahead of us,” she says.
As we thread in and out of opulent neighborhoods on
Cera’s golf cart, we catch occasional glimpses of the USDA
truck, eliciting resigned head-shaking from him.
“If they get about six iguanas, they consider it a good
day,” he says before waxing poetic on the federal takeover
of a once private enterprise. “The days of the cowboys,
pirates and explorers are gone. What am I to do?”
GRANT STODDARD is perfecting his iguanaburger recipe.
HEMISPHERESMAGAZINE.COM • JUNE 2011 95