A mother and daughter duo were pulled over while driving in Florida after they spotted a nearly six-foot-long Asian monitor lizard on the side of the road.
Renee Aland and Zoey Marzonie were driving on Hillsborough Boulevard near Bamboo Drive when they saw the “alligator-like” creature.
“Then my mom said, ‘I’m going to turn around,'” Marzonie said.
‘I look and see what I think is an alligator. As we got closer, I looked and saw his tongue, lizard tongue, sticking out, and I thought, ‘Oh shit, that’s not an alligator,'” Aland said with a laugh. NBC2.
“It was like a big lizard, and I had seen something like it before.” Have you heard of the Disney Channel show Jessie? He was like that big lizard on Jessie.
Renee Aland and Zoey Marzonie were driving on Hillsborough Boulevard near Bamboo Drive when they saw the “alligator-like” creature.
“I was just walking by. It was huge, at least four to five feet. It was pretty crazy. I wanted to get out and get closer, and I was like, ‘What is that?’ I wanted to see it but she said, ‘No, stay in the car,'” Marzonie recalled.
After Aland sent videos of the lizard to the Florida Wildlife Commission, the agency confirmed that the animal was a water monitor lizard not native to Asia and was estimated to be five feet long.
“Monitor lizards are considered a high-priority species for the FWC’s Nonnative Fish and Wildlife Program,” the agency said.
‘Our biologists are still gathering information related to sightings of this animal to determine possible response efforts and will continue to monitor. “We encourage people to report observations to our invasive species hotline at 888-IVE-GOT1 (483-4681), through the IVEGOT1 app, or online at IveGot1.org,” the FWC added.
According to the agencyNile monitors are olive green to black and have cream or yellow stripes on the jaw and head.
Nile monitors are olive green to black and have cream or yellow stripes on the jaw and head.
They are known to be generalist feeders, hunting prey on the surface, underground, in trees, and in fresh and salt water.
In addition to crabs, frogs, turtles, snakes and young crocodiles, the monitor lizard also preys on dogs and cats.
Despite not being native to the state, South Florida’s extensive canal system has long acted as dispersal corridors for the species, which tends to inhabit the water’s edges.
Researchers believe Nile monitor populations in Florida come from intentional and unintentional releases of captive animals.
The Nile monitor’s high reproduction rate, diverse diet and ability to travel over land and in fresh and salt water have long acted as a threat to livestock, such as chickens and small animals, in the state.