The “storm of the century” spares no one in the United States. The cold wave that has hit the country since December 23 is also damaging the local fauna. In the south of the country, temperatures dropped to around 0°C.
Stung by this cold, in Florida, the iguanas fall from the trees and find themselves frozen to the ground. Unable to move, these large lizards appear dead. They are in fact only paralyzed by these low temperatures. Their body no longer has enough energy to move. Most of them will be able to move again when temperatures rise.
Houston bats affected by the cold
Iguanas aren’t the only animals to suffer from the harsh climate. In Houston, Texas, bats freeze and end up on the street. Some of them are collected by volunteers who try to warm them. A first cold snap in 2021 destabilized the bat colony, while Hurricane Harvey in 2017 decimated the population.
On the human side, the current storm claimed the lives of at least 49 people, including 27 in just one county in New York State. More than 300,000 American and Canadian homes were without electricity.
