Quick, try to pick out the incorrect, exaggerated or otherwise strident comment that may be hidden in the four items below ... read carefully in case you miss it! respects, Wes


WKMG (Orlando, Florida) 09 October 07 Large Lizard Spotted In Tree Is One Of Several Terrorizing Neighborhood
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.
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.
http://www.local6.com/news/14298211/detail.html

WESH (Orlando, Florida) 09 October 07 Loose Lizard Sought In Edgewood
Edgewood, Fla.: Residents in Edgewood are a bit on edge because of a lizard on the loose.
Police were able to trap the reptile in a tree, and they set a trap for when it decides to come down.
But a raccoon was found in the trap on Monday night, and officials said the lizard remains on the run.
Neighborhood residents said knowing the lizard is out there is bad enough.
"We really want to try to take care of the lizard and the people here," Edgewood Police Chief John Tegg said.
"He is our local crime wave ... trespassing. I think rumor has it he's taken a couple of kitties," resident Janie Drummond said.
Casselberry police found an elusive monitor lizard over the summer and shot it. Authorities in Edgewood said they plan to trap the lizard and set it free somewhere deep in a wooded area.
http://www.wesh.com/news/14298288/detail.html

ORLANDO SENTINEL (Florida) 09 October 07 Super-sized lizards claim Edgewood as their own (Rich Mckay)
That bad-breathed Godzilla-wannabe on the loose in Edgewood might have friends -- or worse yet -- a mate.
And the African Nile monitor lizard that eluded capture last month just might have hooked its talons onto some prime Lake Conway real estate to raise a family.
Sightings of monitor lizards of various sizes, including one found recently in a household dryer, give credence to fears that the cold-blooded critters could be setting up house.
At 80 eggs in a single clutch -- and no natural enemies -- that's a recipe for ecological disaster, said biologist Gregg Klowden, an expert on the monitor lizard.
"Once they get bigger than a few feet, there's nothing that can touch them," he said.
Klowden was reached Monday as he was conducting a survey of the wild monitor lizards in Sanibel, off the southwest Florida coast.
They are thought to have migrated to Sanibel from Cape Coral, where officials have been vexed by their presence. They have been unable to make a dent in the monitor-lizard population there, even after spending a fortune and years of trying, Klowden said.
The creatures are known to eat pets, but a bigger problem is the ecological havoc they can bring, decimating native bird and mammal populations.
The lizards are natives of the Nile River basin but have been bred as exotic pets. They often escape or are set free when they grow too hard to handle.
"They make terrible pets," Klowden said.
Monitor lizards are aggressive eating machines and can grow longer than 7feet. They're track-star fast, with talons that can slice through steel wire.
Edgewood police and trappers from Critter Control have been hunting for weeks for a 41/2-foot-long lizard thought to have been an unwanted pet. It has been spotted in backyards and swimming pools.
Monday afternoon, police and trappers chased a much smaller monitor lizard up a tree on Haverill Drive but couldn't catch it.
"I wasn't about to send one of my guys up the tree after it," said Cory Hicks, a manager with Critter Control.
Instead, they baited a trap with chicken eggs, hoping it will climb down for a snack.
The lizards typically aren't dangerous to humans, but if cornered or threatened, they can hurt you, Hicks warned.
Edgewood's shoreline on Lake Conway offers a perfect place for burrows, and an abundance of birds and small mammals for food.
Hicks caught a monitor lizard in nearby Belle Isle, and he has heard of other captures.
Two weeks ago, the Rev. Bill Weaver of the Pinecastle Church of Christ said he caught a 3-foot lizard in the pipes of the family dryer. It apparently climbed through the vent in his Edgewood house and got stuck.
"We were amazed that it could get into our house," Weaver said.
He and some neighbors eventually got the lizard out. Weaver said that someone took the critter many miles away, but he was reluctant to share its ultimate fate.
Edgewood police Chief John Tegg acknowledges the various reports of many monitor lizards on the loose. But true to his instincts, he wants to see the body.
"Let's get this one that we know is in the tree, and then we'll see if there's any more," Tegg said.
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/orl-biglizard0907oct09,0,5595617.story

WFTV (Orlando, Florida) 08 October 07 Monitor Lizard Avoids Capture, Remains High In Tree
Edgewood, Fla.: A three to four-foot monitor lizard was still in a tree in an Edgewood neighborhood Tuesday. Animal control officers were hoping they could catch the potentially dangerous reptile in a trap Monday night, but another animal fell for the bait instead.
Dozens of residents stood outside their Edgewood homes in disappointment. Chicken eggs weren't enough to lure the monitor lizard inside the trap at the bottom of a tree the lizard was in, but it was enought to catch a small raccoon Monday night. Residents hope another attempt Tuesday will be more successful.
Edgewood's police chief said Animal Control officers were trying to catch the lizard, which looks like a baby alligator. It escaped officers by crawling up the tree in Robin Adams' mother's backyard.
"Everyone is worried about the kids. It's scary. I wouldn't bring the dog out," said Adams.
For almost a year, the lizard has been blamed for the disappearance of several small pets. The reptiles can also be dangerous to humans. Their bites can cause infections.
However, residents don't believe this was the only monitor lizard in the neighborhood. Homeowners have spotted at least two of the reptiles and killed them.
"We don't even let my daughter go out on the patio and play because of the lizards and it eating pets," said resident Randall Figueredo.
Monday evening, Animal Control officers set a trap with chicken eggs inside to get the lizard come down from the tree. Residents said they hope it will take the bait Tuesday after Monday's failed attempt.
"I think now we've located them. We know where they are, I think its going to be a lot easier to get them," said Drummond.
The African Nile Monitor can grow to seven feet long. Its sharp teeth and claws make it dangerous. It's also known to have a very aggressive temperament with a powerful bite, and can lash people with its tail.
http://www.wftv.com/news/14297406/detail.html

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