4-foot-long lizard found in Southern California backyard
Posted November 02, 2017 7:00 am
RIVERSIDE, Calif. (AP) - A lizard that can grow to be 8 feet long has been found in Southern California, thousands of miles from its native land, and authorities think it's a pet gone astray.
The 4-foot-long crocodile monitor was spotted sunning itself on top of a hedge Wednesday afternoon in the backyard of a Riverside home.
The crocodile monitor is a relative of the famous Komodo dragon. It's native to Papua New Guinea and Indonesia - not California - but it is legal to own them in the state.
It's green and yellow with big claws, a long tail and a forked tongue.
The big lizard is now being held by Riverside County's animal services division. If the owner doesn't claim it, the monitor will be sent to a sanctuary for exotic animals.
In this still frame taken from video provided by the Riverside County Department of Animal Services, an employee holds a crocodile monitor, a lizard that can grow to eight feet long, in Riverside, Calif., Thursday, Nov. 2, 2017. The 4-foot-long crocodile monitor, a relative of the famous Komodo dragon, and native to Papua New Guinea and Indonesia, was spotted sunning itself on top of a hedge Wednesday afternoon in the backyard of a Riverside home. It's legal to own them in the California and if the owner doesn't claim it, the monitor will be sent to a sanctuary for exotic animals. (John Welsh/Riverside County Department of Animal Services via AP
The Associated Press
In this still frame taken from video provided by the Riverside County Department of Animal Services, an employee holds a crocodile monitor, a lizard that can grow to eight feet long, in Riverside, Calif., Thursday, Nov. 2, 2017. The 4-foot-long crocodile monitor, a relative of the famous Komodo dragon, and native to Papua New Guinea and Indonesia, was spotted sunning itself on top of a hedge Wednesday afternoon in the backyard of a Riverside home. It's legal to own them in the California and if the owner doesn't claim it, the monitor will be sent to a sanctuary for exotic animals. (John Welsh/Riverside County Department of Animal Services via AP)
The Associated Press
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