Manuel, the "Lizard Man" visits Coconut Grove

 For the past few years, Manuel Hernandez has come to the area to follow and collect lizards, which are invasive species. He skillfully takes the lizards, puts them in cotton bags, filled with leaves and counts them for university researchers.

 Manuel is collecting and counting the different species for the Cincinnati Zoo. According to him, most of the invasive species he finds came to South Florida in the 1960s, hitching a ride on agricultural imports from Cuba, Puerto Rico and Hispaniola. This research is done for not only zoos, but for universities and independant researchers.

 Below you can see a lizard called a Cuban Green Anole, the scientific name is Anolis Porcatus. The lizard turned completely green after Manuel caught it.