The annual Miami Open tennis tournament had an unusual interruption this year: a green iguana decided to join one of the matches. For its part, the reptile seems pretty relaxed about the whole thing (at least until it starts getting chased around), but we can't say the same about the humans:
After making its entrance during a match between Germany's Tommy Haas and the Czech Republic's Jiri Vesely, the lizard found the perfect scoreboard perch for some spectating. Clearly, Vesely wasn't all that comfortable playing under a reptilian gaze, and asked for the spectator to be removed (Haas, meanwhile, decided to use the opportunity to snap a quick selfie).
"Maybe the iguana got the note that this is most likely the last time I'm playing here, and he wanted to say 'Hi' and take a peek or something," Haas jokingly told the Telegraph. "It was pretty cool. Of that size, I don't think I've ever experienced that. I don't know where he came from and why he wanted to come out on Court 1 and kind of say hello to everyone."
Unfortunately, it seems courtside iguanas just can't get any peace – though we have to give this guy full points for persistence. When officials attempted to remove the lizard, it staged a mad dash across the court, much to the delight of the crowd. Its next destination? The top of the scoreboard on the other side, of course. In the end, the creature was finally nabbed with a towel and released outside the court.
Green iguanas (their scientific name is, helpfully, Iguana iguana) aren't native to Florida; they hail from South America, Central America, Mexico and the Caribbean. However, a significant number of them have been accidentally or intentionally introduced to southern Florida over the years, and now they're a relatively common sight in the region. They're even starting to develop an appreciation for tennis.
__
Top image: Cayambe/Wikimedia Commons
Predator vs Prey
Funny
Backyard wildlife
