Florida: Large Lizard Spotted In Tree Is One Of Several Terrorizing Neighborhood (4'and 6')

Local 6 (Florida) ^ | October 9, 2007

[Stoat]

Large Lizard Spotted In Tree Is One Of Several Terrorizing Neighborhood

 

POSTED: 6:47 am EDT October 9, 2007

UPDATED: 1:01 pm EDT October 9, 2007

 

EDGEWOOD, Fla. -- A large lizard capable of eating small pets and injuring children spotted in a Central Florida neighborhood tree remains on the loose, keeping homeowners on edge.

 

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PHOTOS: Lizard Hiding In Tree

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  The lizard, believed to be longer than 4 feet, was spotted Monday apparently trying to get to a nest in a tree near several Edgewood homes.

 

  Neighbors said it is one of at least three dangerous lizards roaming the area.

"As we walk through the neighborhood, we are now looking up into the trees," homeowner Janie Drummond said. An 89-year-old woman has shut herself inside her home because of the lizard invasion.

"She won't come out," daughter of local homeowner Robin Adams said. "They've told her to stay inside so that's what she is going to do." Other homeowners are keeping their children and pets inside because of the possible danger. The reptile is being blamed for biting a large dog on the head.

"I think it's probably not a good thing to have him running around," homeowner Daymon Powell said. "There are kids in the neighborhood that could corner him and it might attack them." Local 6 showed a large crowd of people standing around the homes where the lizard was spotted.

"It is something to see," Powell said. Experts said the lizards can be aggressive and dangerous. They said they think the loose lizards may have been someone's pet and let loose in the area.

[Stoat]

Please be advised that the photos at the Local 6 site are of such poor quality and feature such a dearth of detail that I didn't think them worthy of re-posting here.....all you can see is a very distant tail and perhaps a poor outline of a head, but that's about it.

The video at that page is not much better, although it does mention a resident characterizing one of the lizards as being six feet in length, something not included in the text of the story.

More on Monitor Lizards:

Monitor lizard - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Nice video here, more informative than the one at Local 6

Monitor Lizard - Video - MSN Encarta

[American Quilter]

(shudder) Guns. Big guns. With poisoned bullets.

[fieldmarshaldj]

[mtbopfuyn]

Simple solution - SSS.

[NonValueAdded]

ROFL

[ConservativeMind]

Is it generally legal to kill such things in town?

[Lazamataz]

Large Lizard Spotted In Tree

I wondered where I had put my johnson.

'Twas in a tree.

[McLynnan]

LOL! Every once in a while I get a gecko in my house and to my girly eyes they are at least that big.

[Stoat]

Florida Ping

[yorkie]

#3, you need to photo-shop a pantsuit on that pig. (Uh, I mean giant lizard). Those thighs are incredibly large.

[Stoat]

Is it generally legal to kill such things in town?

Not being a Floridian, my guess would be that they are regarded as a protected species and so harming or killing one would probably result in serious jail time and fines, unless it can be clearly shown that a human was in imminent danger.

Even then, it would probably not be without legal consequences.

[Bringbackthedraft]

We got inguanas running all over the place in Cape Haze and Gasparella Is. FL but they aren’t 4-6’ long. Thousands! They are not a native species. I’m afraid to think what else is around, we also have exotic Amazon River fish in the canals. People buy exotic pets and then they release them when they tire of taking care of them.

[fieldmarshaldj]

You caught me there. This was, of course, an undoctored photo of Hillary Clinton while enjoying a day at the beach.

[yorkie]

Oh. Sorry. Didn’t recognize her without the pantsuit.

[Stoat]

We got inguanas running all over the place in Cape Haze and Gasparella Is. FL

Are the iguanas big or aggressive enough to cause a danger to the public?

Some of my Australian friends consider it a sign of good luck when lizards take up residence in their gardens, because they eat rodents and some poisonous insects and thereby are a benefit to gardeners.

They are very small lizards though, typically no more than 1 1/2 feet long

[Old Sarge]

I wouldl call this one either a personal injury lawyer, or a marketroid.

[Cringing Negativism Network]

Holy moley.

That looks like a Komodo Dragon.

Yikes.

[FReepapalooza]

Yikes!!!!!

[Bringbackthedraft]

Are the iguanas big or aggressive enough to cause a danger to the public? ................ They come in different sizes and colors. The largest I have seen was about 3’nestled in the dunes. On the average I’ve seen them around the 2’ size. We have a couple here running around that are emerald green. They don’t bother the dogs or cats as far as we know. I would think they would be tasty morsals for the local gators. Those we have in the larger sizes. The biggest compaint we hear on the Island is that there are too damn many of them (Inguanas). Maybe because there is too much Inquana Guamo? They do like bird’s eggs and turtle eggs I hear, so that could be the major problem.

[proudofthesouth]

Now you know why your cats have been disappearing! ;^}

[RightWhale]

Why do they nervously look up into trees? Do the lizards drop out of trees onto your head like panthers? could be worse: the lizards could be on fire.

[TexasCajun]

The big hairy fella will save them!

[Slings and Arrows]

IIRC, adult iguanas are vegetarians - the juvies will munch on bugs. Monitor lizards, OTOH, are aggressive carnivores and not a native species.

[SWAMPSNIPER]

They aren’t protected, they are considered to be an invasive species.

[Daffynition]

Lock your doors, the lizards are attacking! Everyone PANIC! ;-D

[Shimmer]

“large lizard capable of eating small pets and injuring children”

Make that injuring small pets and eating children.
You tried to tell ‘em.

[Shimmer]

Daffy, you are too funny

[Daffynition]

**Phew** Everyone can breathe easy ...he's been caught!

Monitor Lizard Captured After Roaming Town For Months

EDGEWOOD, Fla. -- A monitor lizard, suspected of killing small pets in an Orange County community, was finally caught Thursday. The exotic reptile has been roaming the town of Edgewood for nearly a year.

It was a big catch for the neighborhood, who said they're tired of the lizards and it was all done with a pet dog and squeegee.

With his long tail and creepy eyes, the almost 4-foot long monitor lizard was caught. Edgewood resident Michael Lowe gives thanks to his dog Maggie. With Maggie and a squeegee, Lowe's son was able to corner the reptile until a pest control company was able to come and capture it.

"Their teeth are really sharp and they have nasty bacteria and they will whip you with their tail and they can actually lay your skin over," said Brett McCollough, Custom Pet Solutions.

For almost a year, people in the Edgewood area neighborhood said the reptile, along with its friends, have terrorized them. Two have been killed.

McCollough said it's dangerous for monitor lizards to be in a neighborhood, especially when they're hungry.

"There have been some smaller animals that have been missing and parts have been found," he said.

MccCllough wanted to set more traps, since some neighbors believe there are more lizards lurking around, but Edgewood Police Chief John Tegg told him not to since there's no evidence of more.

Lowe said he's okay with the chief's decision.

The police chief said the monitor lizard is heading far away from his community, to Tampa where a researcher will study the reptile.

Photos

[Shimmer]

Pictures for George

[Stoat]

WOW! Thank you so much for the great update!

I'm glad that the residents there can feel a bit safer now.

Thanks for posting the link to the pictures as well....what a nice tongue he has! :-)

 

[Daffynition]

You’re welcome ... that’s one intimidating lizard!

[lillie_ivy]

What a great article. Thanks for bringing it to my attention.