Routine bike patrol turns into unexpected rescue mission for Pines officer
While patrolling the community as part of the City of Pembroke Pines Bicycle Patrol Team, Officer Victor Lescano came across an unexpected resident in need of help — a green iguana with its head stuck in a fence.
Lescano quickly stepped in to free the trapped reptile, according to the police department’s social media accounts.
Though green iguanas have become a common sight throughout South Florida, they are an invasive species.
According to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, releasing pets into the wild is not only harmful to the environment, but also illegal.
Green iguanas are native to Central and South America and some eastern Caribbean islands. In Florida, they thrive in urban areas and along canals where they can easily spread.
These reptiles are known to damage residential and commercial landscaping and are often considered a nuisance by property owners.
The FWC encourages landowners to humanely remove green iguanas from their private properties but warns that captured iguanas cannot be relocated or released elsewhere in the state.
Those unable to safely remove iguanas from their property should contact a professional nuisance wildlife trapper. A permit is required to possess live captured green iguanas for eradication and control purposes.
The PPPD Bicycle Patrol Team assists with community policing efforts across neighborhoods and shopping areas, where officers can travel through spaces that patrol vehicles often can’t reach.
This story was originally published November 4, 2025 at 12:45 PM.
