Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I saw the report last night that they caught a monitor in Edgewood. The channel I was watching last night kept showing some clip of a nile way up in a tree. As I was reading the posts here on the forum they just now did a report on the local fox channel and showed the monitor that was caught. It was a blackthroat, good size but still small enough to fit in a havahart trap. That in itself is funny since it wasn't caught in a trap. Some homeowner pinned it down with a garden rake and called the cops to come get it. His dogs found it and surprisingly enough they are still alive as they are shown in the newsclip. The lizard is now going to Tampa for "tests" which means it will be cut open to see what it has been eating. Seeing that the monitor they've been showing clips of the last few days is a nile I wonder just how much better this circus can get. If you only new (HH does I'm sure) just what keystone cops they had in Edgewood Fla. you see the small humor in this whole monitor mess.

Here's The Orlando Sentinel's newspaper article about catching a monitor.

"Long arm of the law snatches a big lizard"
www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/volusia/orl-leapinlizard1207oct12,0,4624605.story
By: Rich McKay - Sentinel Staff Writer
October 12, 2007

EDGEWOOD - The monster of Haverill Road is gone.

A broomstick, a barking bulldog named Maggie and a cop-turned-lizard-wrestler did the job.

They caught the 4-foot, Godzilla-like African Nile monitor lizard that had folks in this bedroom community riled for weeks.

Residents had been keeping pets locked up and looking twice before reaching into trash cans and mailboxes.

"We've got it; we've got the Edgewood monster," said a smiling police Chief John Tegg, slapping the back of Officer Ron Hulbert.

Hulbert had grabbed the lizard and held on tight until a trapper arrived with a cage.

"I'm afraid now I might lose this man to Gatorland," the chief added.

Hulbert just hoisted his utility belt, took a breath and answered with deliberate bombast: "I'm here to protect and to serve."

The lizard saga started weeks ago as neighbors starting seeing a Jurassic Park throwback scurrying through their yards and swimming in their pools.

Tegg hired trappers who placed baited cages in the Edgewood neighborhoods off Orange Avenue, but to no avail.

Nathan Lowe, 28, was studying for a test Thursday afternoon when he saw the lizard scurry across his fence on Haverill Road, the hot spot for lizard sightings.

He looked outside and saw his 11-month-old bulldog, Maggie, barking and snapping as the lizard hissed and swished its tail.

"I came over with a push broom and held it down," Lowe said matter-of-factly. His father called police, and Hulbert was there in a minute.

"We kept trying to scoop it up, but it kept wiggling around," Hulbert said.

So he made a snap decision, reached down with his bare hands and grabbed it just behind its head, and by its tail.

"Then I said, 'OK, now what?' " Hulbert said, realizing that they didn't have a cage, and if he let go, even for an instant, the angry beast's talons and teeth could get him.

Police called in one of the trappers on lizard patrol nearby. Brett McCullough of Custom Pest Solutions had a cage.

But it took 15 minutes for him to get to Haverill Road, and by then both Hulbert and the reptile were exhausted.

"I was pretty tired, but so was he -- if it's a he, that is," Hulbert said.

The three men were able to get it into the cage without any scrapes or bites and then perched the cage atop the trunk of Hulbert's patrol car for all the neighborhood to see.

"Well, thank goodness," neighbor Jennifer Crossley said. "I thought it was going to get my dogs; they're little."

McCullough said the animal would be delivered safe and sound to biology professor Todd Campbell at the University of Tampa.

Neighbor Rob Dey, though, doesn't think the story ends here. He's certain that there are more monitor lizards around.

To that, Chief Tegg said, "Well, I guess we'll find out for sure if we catch another one."

www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/volusia/orl-leapinlizard1207oct12,0,4624605.story

Click the link above to view photo of the monitor caught.
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Due to political correctness run amuck,
this ol' hillbilly is now referred to as an:
Appalachian American

I live an hour from where this happened. i have a huge outdoor cage housing 1 female BT. I wonder if it is possible that I could adopt it?? Fat chance im sure, but who would I talk to?

Friggin IDIOTS!!!!!! Its a damn Blackthroat!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

> > > Friggin IDIOTS!!!!!! Its a d--- Blackthroat!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

No, you're wrong. The newspaper said it was an African Nile. Surely they're not wrong. Maybe it's a Blackthroat African Nile Monitor lizard.

Hahahahahahahahaha!!!

Catch ya later!
HH
-----
Due to political correctness run amuck,
this ol' hillbilly is now referred to as an:
Appalachian American

I know who Prof. Todd Campbell is and all due respect to him, I can tell you this monitor will definitely be euthanized. Too bad...it's really a nice looking blackthrought. I love the 4ft. figure they must have the worlds biggest havahart trap and they must be giants considering I saw them holding the trap w/lizard in it. They must be using that special ruler they use to measure certain anatomy parts, or else I've been using women's tape measures all these years because that don't look like what I call 4ft.

Thanks for the update!

> > > I wonder just how much better this circus can get. If you only new (HH does I'm sure) just what keystone cops they had in Edgewood Fla. you see the small humor in this whole monitor mess.

Heh, I saw a photo of the officer that grabbed the monitor; typical southern, small-town police officer, through & through. Here's a link to the photo: www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/volusia/orl-lizard220071011142037,0,1854415.photo

I have to say, though, he appears to be a cut above what they had many years ago. Ya'll gotta realize we're talkin' about a town with a population of 2,000. Primarily a residential area in a nice, peaceful, country setting (At least it used to be. It's been close to 10yrs since I've been there.). But it's just outside the Orlando city limits, a totally different world.

About 20 - 25yrs ago Edgewood only had one or two police officers and they were security guard rejects. The few, the proud, but they weren't Marines. Far, far from it!!! Ha! Ha! Young Barney Phifes. I'm glad to see they've made some improvements.

Catch ya later!
HH
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Due to political correctness run amuck,
this ol' hillbilly is now referred to as an:
Appalachian American

Alot's changed in those 10yrs. All those Orange groves are gone and they cut down all those nice old live oaks in the center of town and put up a hospital (Like we need more in orlando area.). That police chief reminds me of the cop on the simpsons btw a really bright bulb if you ask me. I'm just glad all those free-ranging pet hamsters and gerbils will sleep better tonight since the "edgewood pet killer" has been captured. Come to think of it I think that blackthroat might choke on an adult hamster.