The former president of Du Pont had a rather eccentric approach to defending himself and his property- a trained squad of “attack iguanas.”
Irenee Du Pont, who lived from 1876 to 1963, was known for many things, including his Cuba-based palace and the contingent of iguanas that defended it.
Some of the iguanas were three feet in length and all were reportedly well cared-for, according to Gerard Colyb’s book, Du Pont Dynasty: Behind the Nylon Curtain.
“By barking a command, he could make them all come out of their pens and surround him, standing at attention,” Colyb wrote. “He had trained them, on another command, to attack a target to kill.”
Du Pont reportedly spent thousands of dollars to breed the creatures, and they lived in their own special pens.
The DuPont company originally was born from E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company, which manufactured gunpowder.
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