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NATCHEZ DEMOCRAT (Mississippi) 27 August 04 Leapin' lizards! Monitor on loose in Vidalia (Kerry Whipple)
Vidalia, Louisiana: John Miller thought he might be hallucinating the first time he saw it.
But then another neighbor saw it -- a four-foot monitor lizard roaming their neighborhood on Camellia Drive behind Wendy's in Vidalia.
"He tried to eat my dog up two times," Miller said of his small Yorkshire terrier.
The lizard, an apparent pet on the loose from another neighbor on the street, has been roaming the street for up to two weeks.
Neighbors suspect the lizard is what ate two new roosters a resident on Camellia bought recently.
"He got two brand-new roosters," neighbor Michelle Bumgarner said. "They didn't even get to crow the next morning."
Bumgarner's husband put a trap behind their house with some chicken, but the lizard outsmarted them -- it ate the chicken from the back of the trap and avoided going inside the cage.
"All the guys were going around trying to find it," Bumgarner said. "It was a lizard hunt."
Miller fears not only for his dog but also for his children. "It's bigger than some of our children," he said.
In addition to setting the traps, Miller and another neighbor, Patrick Stroud, have tried shooting at the reptile. Miller hit it twice with a .22 Magnum, but it didn't faze the lizard.
Residents have called Vidalia police and the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, who advised them to call an alligator hunter.
Miller even had the monitor's tail in his hand -- the way he was told to try to catch it -- but the lizard reached back and tried to bite him, so he let go.
John Leslie, wildlife biologist with Wildlife and Fisheries, said the department cannot regulate such lizards because they are classified as exotic animals.
He was not sure what kind of monitor lizard it is because no one with expert knowledge has seen it yet.
There are no regulations against keeping monitors as pets, Leslie said.
"These are very common pets around Florida," Leslie said. "It's unusual one would be up here this far."
Leslie was not surprised to hear the lizard was the suspect in the death of the roosters.
"I don't doubt it," he said. "They are a carnivorous species."
Monitor on loose in Vidalia, LA

np

It's just amazing how some yahoo can think about getting a gun to kill an animal that is loose but wouldn't think about grabbing a camera to take a pic to ID the critter.
I did like the part where he outsmarted the hunters trap and ate the chicken anyway.

Scott
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Do not meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup.

Why would you want to take a photo to ID it when you already know what it is? It's a giant carnivorous lizard that wants to eat your neighbour's dog AND both of your children, what more do you need to know? It's already eaten two roosters. What's more, it's bulletproof, too. Two .22 hits didn't even slow it down in its quest for children! If someone got in its way with a camera, it'd eat them for sure. Pffft, camera.... what are you, some sort of greenie? LIVES ARE AT STAKE! IT MUST BE STOPPED AT ALL COSTS!

Hey, what did that guy want two roosters, anyway? What IS going on in Vidalia LA? Cockfights?

so that explains alot.

I just pray to god its not the same one that was loose in that movie "Komodo" .I thought he was dead! Oh dear

If you've watched enough of those movies, you'd know that the sequel is always the mate coming back for revenge (remember Jaws II?).

Yeah I hear these guys breed like rabbits too, so it doesn't surprise me. I think we better take some immediate action so no more lives are lost. Whats the body count so far?

the count so far:

Frightened a terrier and apparently tried to eat it, twice, but failed.
Looked big enough to eat children, but hasn't done so.
2 roosters (highly suspect. Probably stolen by local cockfighter)
some chicken left in a trap (also highly suspect, probably trap raiding skunk).

Not enough to make a good horror film, yet.

Thank goodness it wasn't that killer Komodo.Not one person in that city would be alive if it were him. I once saw him wipe out a whole town.

More dogs are killed by bufo toads than any monitor could even pose a threat to. Even if grandma was feeling adventurous and wanted to lick a toad, hell I'd let her. She has a killer policy.

That fool shot it twice? He should be locked up for that, it should be treated just the same as if his neighbor's pet dog got lose and he didn't like it so took shots at it.

before the rare florida monitor lizard reached out into new territory. Is your state next?

Wow it is 4 foot from head to tail dang that sucker must wiegh a ton and have a huge long body. Big enough to eat most of them children. Guess the kids in them parts are tiny suckers.

Got out my trusty 22 magnum and put two shots into him, or wait was it I shot at him twice and missed??? Is it a monitor, iguana, or tegu? maybe it is just a small gator.

Better watch my dog it may get eaten. I am so terrified now that there is a 4 foot lizard in my front lawn. I got used to the 9 foot gator in the back but this monitor lizard wow he sure is fiesty.

I guess I must go over there and slay the vicious dragon.
Now where to find a virgin to sacrifice to the beast?
HMMMM...............
Just hope it's not that killer gila monster from that 50's movie.

Scott
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Do not meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup.

Then again who knows...