Animal control officers are used to hyperbole. Every giant monster is a simple snake or lizard or frog. Every wild dog out of control is someone’s escaped pet. However, panicky calls from a residential neighborhood in Riverside, California, concerning a giant Godzilla-like monster turned out to be pretty accurate. A five-foot-long black-throated monitor lizard was roaming around a condo complex, frightening the kids and eating the rodents.
“She said she saw it and almost jumped back in her truck,” said Riverside County Animal Services spokesman John Welsh, referring to Jenny Selter, the animal control officer who apprehended the lizard. “The residents were freaking out because here’s the Godzilla-like creature walking down the sidewalk. The shelter has had monitor lizards before. “The last one we had was nasty. But this one doesn’t hiss and we were able to walk it around. It was investigating and didn’t snap at anyone. We suspect that it’s been someone’s pet for a long time, because it’s so big. I think they might let it wander around the house. Maybe it sleeps on a bean bag?”
Given that it’s a giant carnivorous lizard, I imagine it sleeps anywhere it wants to.
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