Located three miles from the beach’s shoreline, Florida Atlantic University’s Boca Raton campus holds over 29,000 students according to their website. Within the human population is an abundance of wildlife, from the nocturnal species of raccoons and coyotes to iguanas and burrowing owls.

As students make their way to classes, they’re likely to catch a group of raccoons rummaging through the trash cans or iguanas sunbathing, scattering themselves around the banks of the university’s ponds by the Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters building. Not only have the various wildlife species learned to co-exist together, but the students have adapted to their presence.

Former FAU student, Pierce Kennamer graduated in the spring of 2023 with a bachelor’s in finance and a minor in cybersecurity. After his graduation, he started his own business, IggyTrap. His company centers around environmental solutions and methods of capturing invasive animal species in Florida.  

“Honestly it’s funny because a lot of the wildlife is sort of comical with FAU. I feel like during undergrad, the raccoon was always a funny sort of thing, just because of how desensitized they are to people…They almost feel like they also attend school there,” said Kennamer. 

For out-of-state students who had to adapt to South Florida’s ecosystem, the prevalence of iguanas was the largest shock factor, according to Sadie Williams, a junior majoring in business management from Chicago. 

“Back home we don’t have any iguanas or anything so that’s kind of interesting coming here and all the lizards and iguanas,” said Williams.

Kennamer said that the iguanas breed is “way more than any other animal,” each producing 25 to 75 eggs per animal with 90% of the eggs hatching to maturity, causing the population to explode in the Boca Raton area. He compared their reproductive rates to that of rodents. 

Alex Stair, a junior majoring in public management and originally from Wisconsin, was also surprised by the amount of iguanas located at FAU. He recalled a time when, while living on campus in Parliament Hall, an iguana found itself inside the student dorm.

The iguana noticed its reflection in the window of the front door and appeared confused. Then he said somebody opened the front door, giving the reptile the opportunity to run inside. 

“We had to throw a towel over him and iguanas kind of go into a shock sometimes when they’re startled or they’ve been caught. So really once I picked him up, he was just frozen,” said Stair. 

According to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission, the invasive species of reptiles go into a state of torpor, losing all their muscle control, when temperatures drop to near freezing. 

During Stair’s freshman year at FAU in 2022, temperatures dropped, and as he headed back to the dorms from CVS Pharmacy on his electric scooter, he spotted something: a frozen iguana. The reptile was a juvenile. Stair recalled it was only around a foot long, and it was frozen very low to the ground.

“I was worried that something was going to come along and get him, so I actually took a shirt out of my backpack and I wrapped him up. I held him for a while to warm him up then I put him back in the sun, and then I let him go,” said Stair. 

The general population shouldn’t follow the action that Stair took. Kennamer said the largest risk factor iguanas present to humans is their excrement. It can carry salmonella, and there have been some cases of people getting salmonella poisoning from reptiles, especially if they get into a pool or a body of water that people swim in. 

Kennamer pointed out that iguanas pose a large risk to native wildlife as well. According to a University Press article on Nov. 12, 2024, iguanas frequent the 95-acre preservation that FAU has in place to protect Florida’s designated threatened species of burrowing owls and gopher tortoises. 

When iguanas dig into the burrows that the two species have formed, they go past the typical depth, resulting in damage to not only the nest but eggs. 

Miller Legg, a consulting firm that does a bi-annual protected species assessment at FAU, showed that there are around 40 burrowing owls on campus per their January 2024 assessment, making their presence uncommon. Stair had the opportunity to encounter two owls during his three years. 

“I saw one on a tree. I searched on YouTube for ‘burrowing owl call,’ and I started playing the sound and the owl got really interested and started hooting back…They’re super cool. They’re basically just miniature owls that have a higher-pitched call,” said Stair.

While the threatened species isn’t as common as the estimated over 1,000 iguanas in all of Florida according to the IggyTraps website, raccoons are one native species that strides around FAU’s campus 24/7. 

FAU has seven different on-campus living options for students. Four dorms are located on the lawn, an open grassy area towards the main happenings of campus. Parliament Hall is the farthest dorm but is still within the inner circle.

The University Village Apartments is the farthest away from the main hub. It’s nestled on the outer loop of FAU and backs up to the woodlands that the nocturnal species call home. 

Williams has lived in UVA for the past two years. She noted that raccoons are everywhere around the apartments, particularly when the sun falls. They’ll be present in the garbage bins that are located at all of the stairwells. 

“I’m kind of scared by those because I feel like they could come and attack me. I don’t know, they just gross me out more,” said Williams. 

A solution to the issue that Williams suggested is if the university emptied the garbage bins at night or towards the end of the day so the trash pandas would have less to rummage through. She also presented the idea of locking all of the doors because the front door at UVA is frequently unlocked or fully open. 

Raccoons have gathered the reputation of a dangerous species because of their ability to carry rabies, according to Critter Control’s website, but they’re fairly unexpected to attack. The naturally shy species prefer to retreat when humans are nearby, and if they intend to attack, they will try to intimidate by making themselves appear larger or baring their teeth. The fear of raccoons is something that Stair wished fewer people had. 

“I think they’re really misunderstood. A lot of people actually have them as pets and as long as you know what to look for and you do your research, I think they’re super cool. I mean they’re basically like a cat and a dog mixed,” said Stair. 

Stair’s experiences with raccoons varied from his fellow students. He resided in Parliament Hall for his first two years and around 10 p.m., he would give them small snacks such as Cheez-Its or pretzels, “They are really into sweet stuff, too.” 

For now, FAU students will continue to learn how to co-exist with their wildlife friends as both human and animal numbers expand in growth. 

This story is in the UP’s latest print issue, Vol. 32, “Earth Day: Exploring Environmental Research and Wildlife at FAU, which can be found in the distribution boxes around the Boca Raton campus or in the Student Union Room 214.

Megan Bruinsma is the Sports Editor for the University Press. For more information regarding this or other stories email her at mbruinsma2022@fau.edu or DM her on Instagram @megan_bruinsma or Twitter (X) @MeganBruinsma.