A massive monitor lizard gave customers and staff a scare as it casually strolled through the shelves of a 7-11 store in Nakhon Pathom, Thailand.
The giant lizard, estimated to be 6-feet (1.83 meters) long, walked down the isles and went to the beverage coolers of the convenience store. Unable to open the glass doors, it changed direction and went toward a snack shelf, climbing up and down the shelves and knocking items down.
After the witnesses' initial shock and confusion, they soon started laughing, with others screaming as the lizard tried going up the convenience store shelves. The monitor lizard's visit to the convenience store was captured by a customer named Jejene Narumpa, who took photos and a video of the encounter. Her post of the incident on Facebook has since gone viral, with more than 6K reacts, 4K comments, and more than 20K shares on the social media platform.
NBC News reports that one of the convenience store employees called local authorities who brought in reptile handlers to safely assist the monitor lizard out of the convenience store and into a nearby bush.
ALSO READ: Monitor Lizards are "Ecosystem Engineers" According to Research
Monitor Lizards in Asia
Monitor Lizards are massive terrestrial reptiles native to parts of Africa, Asia, and Oceania. However, in recent decades, a species of the large lizard has been found in the US as an invasive species.
They are characterized by their long necks, powerful tails, and sharp claws. Monitor lizards are known to grow up to 10 feet (3 meters) in the case of Komodo dragons. However, a now-extinct member of its genus Varanus, megalania (V. priscus), was believed to have grown up to lengths of up to 23 feet (7 meters) and once dominated the Australian mainland.
These carnivorous and fork-tongued reptiles are mostly carnivorous - feeding on insects, spiders, eggs of birds, mollusks and crabs, fishes, frogs, and rodents - they also eat fruits and plants.
Polarizing Ecosystem Engineers
Tagged as the "Dragon Problem" in an article, monitor lizards were first reported back in 1990, now widely believed to be introduced to the US via the exotic pet trade. The lizards found in the wild most likely began as pets that either escaped or were released by their pet owners who can no longer sustain them as pets - similar to the sewer alligator stories.
As monitor lizards are capable of laying dozens of eggs in a single birthing, their numbers in the US quickly grew in the conducive swamplands and waterfront communities of Florida.
However, a decade-long study from the University of South Florida researchers reveals that monitor lizards in Australia significantly impact their environment. Together with tortoises and sea turtles, monitor lizards are potential "ecosystem engineers," creatures whose abilities to change, create, or destroy a habitat benefits other species aside from its own.
Observing monitor lizards in Australia revealed that their warrens, the local term for the lizards' system of underground tunnels, also hosts other animals who use their pockets for habitat and even give birth to their young. As deep-nesting lizards, these creatures burrow tunnels as deep as 13 feet beneath the surface.
Check out more news and information on Monitor Lizards in Science Times.
