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Anyone Looking For A 5-Foot-Long Lizard In Riverside?

RIVERSIDE  (AP) —  Animal services officers are looking for the owner of a 5-foot-long lizard found wandering around a condo complex in the city of Riverside.

Spokesman John Welsh says a resident reported the wayward lizard Tuesday afternoon. He says animal services officer Jenny Selter put a catch pole around its neck while a police officer grabbed the reptile's body. They then slipped it into a compartment of Selter's vehicle that's usually used for carrying large dogs.

Welsh says the animal is well-behaved, for a Monitor lizard, and likely has been someone's pet for a long time. He suspects it escaped from its cage, perhaps while its owner was away, and hopes that someone will claim it soon.

Black-throated Monitor lizards are carnivorous and native to the grasslands of Africa.

(© Copyright 2010 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

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