Giant Four Foot Lizards Marching North?

Outdoor Life reports that:

Fast-moving, terrestrial lizards are slinking their way through the Southeast, invading national parks and possibly your backyard. Native to South America, the Argentine black and white tegu was introduced in South Florida through the pet trade. Since 2013, hundreds of tegus have been found after escaping captivity or being released by pet owners. Recent sightings in Georgia and South Carolina confirmed what biologists feared—Argentine black and white tegus are slowly but surely inching north, expanding their range.

 

“The whole southern part of the U.S. is at risk of tegu invasion,” says Amy Yackel Adams, a biologist with the U.S. Geological Survey, who is studying the animal.... 

 

Apart from established populations in south and central Florida, the reptiles have been spotted in two counties in Georgia and four in South Carolina. The spotted, scaled reptiles can grow to 4 feet long, the size of “a small alligator,” Georgia and South Carolina Department of Natural Resources officials say. Resourceful and evasive, it has proven difficult to control or reduce their spread once the species has been established. A healthy tegu can live 15 to 20 years and female tegus lay 30 eggs a year.

It turns out that the Argentine black-and-white Tegu, an aggressive four-foot lizard, can survive temperatures as low as 30 degrees by burrowing into piles of leaves or sliding into burrows of other animals. If the leaf piles are big enough to generate composting heat, they may be able to withstand temperatures even lower. 

Could they survive the winter in groundhog burrows? Some research is needed!

From Maine comes this story of an escapee:

Police say the lizard , an Argentina black and white tegu, was living under a shed in an old groundhog burrow.

Bottom line:  Stay tuned!