THE ANCIENT FAMILY OF LIZARDS 13 5 



(Fig. 59). He seemed no more suited to tree 

 life than an alligator would have been, but he 

 was probably as safe there as such a juicy morsel 

 would have been anywhere. 



Not only the large forest animals, but the 

 Panama natives prize the iguanas highly for food. 

 Two that John English shot furnished meat for 

 Frijoles over Sunday. My men were willing to 

 bring me plenty of iguana heads for my collection, 

 but they asked permission to keep the bodies to 

 eat. I was warned not to eat chop suey in the 

 Panamanian cafes, because it was sure to be made 

 of iguana meat instead of chicken. Personally I 

 could see no objection to eating meat that looks 

 and tastes like chicken, simply because it came 

 from a lizard instead of a bird. The iguanas' 

 taste in food is quite as clean as a chicken's. 

 They eat leaves and fruit, and probably add to 

 this eggs, young birds, and other small animals 

 as they can catch them. 



I saw several iguanas in the branches of shade 

 trees in Ancon, and even a young one, two feet 

 long, running across the asphalt-paved street 

 dodging automobiles. One of my Ancon neigh- 

 bors complained of an iguana that landed with a 

 thud on his roof every night just as everything 

 was quiet and restful within. They may be seen 

 alive, with their feet tied together, waiting a 

 purchaser in the markets, and they are sometimes 

 shipped to New York alive. 



10 



