Delray Beach resident got video of epic battle between an otter and an iguana — who won?

DELRAY BEACH — King's Point resident Chris Newcomer expected the norm on her Sunday evening walk with her husband Nov. 5.

Watching an otter chase down an iguana and engage in an epic battle in the lake adjacent to her condo was anything but the norm.

The duel started on land, too fast for Newcomer to pull out her phone to capture it, she said.

“(The otter) was chasing it hardcore,” Newcomer added.

But by the time her phone was out, the clash between the two made its way to the water — the lake at the Saxony condos in her neighborhood, where Newcomer and her husband have been living since April.

What happened between the otter and the iguana in the water?

Newcomer was able to get video of the reptile vs. mammal fray in the lake, where the iguana seemed to come up on the short end, slowly dragging itself back to land just outside the lake.

“I don't think the iguana survived,” Newcomer said. “He laid in the same spot for about three hours. And then it got dark and I couldn’t see anymore.”

Newcomer assumes maintenance — or the otter — picked it up overnight. There was no iguana on the bank the next morning.

“But it was really cool,” she said behind a laugh.

Why would the otter attack the iguana?

Amy Kight, the executive director at Busch Wildlife Sanctuary in Jupiter, said she wasn't necessarily surprised by the attack — and the fact that in all likelihood, the otter prevailed in the skirmish.

"Otters can be very aggressive if you tangle with them," she said. "They can do a great deal of damage. They have the ability to rip open turtle shells, break bones and I'm not shocked that the otter had the upper hand, especially when it got the iguana in the water."

To many, otters are known for their cuddly appearance and playful nature. It may not seem normal to deem the creatures dangerous. Kight, however, said otters should not be underestimated. They have sharp claws on their powerful web feet.

"Iguanas are not natural fighters," Kight said. "Can they fight? Yes, but primarily in defense. They will use their long tail in a whipping fashion as their main defense. They can swim, but they are not really an aquatic animal, which is where the otter really has an advantage."

Kight said otters are not very territorial so most likely it was either a young otter or a mother that was extremely hungry, enough so to go after the sizable iguana.

"My best guess? That otter basically said, 'You know, I'm just gonna go for it,'" Kight figures.

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She said in all likelihood, the iguana died on the bank from stress or the cuts and damage from the brawl.

Kight said attacks like this are good because reptiles such as iguanas and pythons are not native to Florida whereas otters are.

Newcomer had seen three otters on the property, usually traveling together.

“So maybe there were others pulling it down from underneath the water,” she said of the iguana.

Iguanas, she’d lost count of. But this one would be hard to forget.

Dealing with iguanas in South Florida

Iguanas are established in South Florida, partly thanks to the state’s exotic pet trade. But what does it take to get rid of them?

Racoons, snakes, hawks, owls, egrets, herons, cats and dogs kill the majority of hatchling and juvenile iguanas, a University of Florida study on dealing with the predators in South Florida’s landscape states.

But when the iguanas reach about 2 feet in length, their list of natural enemies decreases.

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In this case, not enough to deter one otter.

Staff Writer James Coleman contributed to this report.

Jasmine Fernández is a journalist covering Delray Beach and Boca Raton for The Palm Beach Post. You can reach her at jfernandez@pbpost.com and follow her on X (formerly Twitter) at @jasminefernandz. Help support our work. Subscribe today.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: South Florida resident captures video of otter fighting with iguana