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'Iguana My Electricity Back! ' A Trespassing Lizard Shuts Down a Florida City The reptile crawled into an electric substation, and fireworks ensued.

By Jonathan Small

Grilled iguana is a delicacy in some South American countries, but in Lake Worth, Florida, it's just a major headache.

On Wednesday, an iguana crawled into an electric substation in the small city just south of Palm Beach and caused a major power failure.

Lake Worth Beach Utility tweeted that "a large-scale outage caused by an iguana had paralyzed the South Eastern part of the city.

According to reports, the iguana's tail accidentally hit a transformer, causing the grid and the unfortunate iguana to fry.

Power was restored within a half hour, but local residents took to Twitter to complain.

"Iguana my electricity baaaaack!" wrote Backspace records.

Related: This Solar-Powered Florida Town Was Built to Withstand Hurricanes. Did It Work?

A persistent problem

Green Iguanas are not native to Florida and are therefore considered an "invasive" species in the area due to their impact on native wildlife, including, in this case, humans.

They were first introduced to the state back in 1960 and have multiplied in population. While Iguanas are not aggressive creatures, their digging can cause a lot of damage to landscapes, sea walls, sidewalks, and homes.

This is not the first time iguanas have messed with Lake Worth Beach.

City spokesman Ben Kerr told local station WPTV that there have been three instances where iguanas have tangled with power stations.

The city has erected barriers to prevent this from happening, but they don't always work.

"The problem with the iguana is because they're so big, they basically drive over lines," he said.

Jonathan Small

Entrepreneur Staff

Founder, Strike Fire Productions

Jonathan Small is a bestselling author, journalist, producer, and podcast host. For 25 years, he has worked as a sought-after storyteller for top media companies such as The New York Times, Hearst, Entrepreneur, and Condé Nast. He has held executive roles at Glamour, Fitness, and Entrepreneur and regularly contributes to The New York Times, TV Guide, Cosmo, Details, Maxim, and Good Housekeeping. He is the former “Jake” advice columnist for Glamour magazine and the “Guy Guru” at Cosmo.

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