70-cm Monitor Lizard Captured in Gwanggyo After 11-Day Chase

A 70-centimeter-long Nile monitor lizard, which had caused anxiety among residents after appearing around walking trails in the Gwanggyo New Town area of Gyeonggi Province, has finally been captured after 11 days of searching.

According to Suwon City and other authorities on August 22, the city and fire authorities successfully captured the lizard near the stream close to Hongjae Library in Gwanggyo Wellbeing Town at 11:37 a.m. that day.

This comes 11 days after the first media reports emerged on August 11 about the sighting of a large lizard.

A worker performing stream weeding work that day first spotted the lizard hidden in the bushes and reported it to the fire department.

Authorities reported that about five firefighters dispatched to the scene waited nearby with landing nets, flushed the lizard out of the bushes by disturbing the foliage, and safely captured it.

No one was injured during the capture process, and no visible injuries were found on the lizard.

The city plans to send the captured lizard to the National Institute of Biological Resources for a final verification process to confirm whether it is indeed the Nile monitor lizard reported missing.

If confirmed to be the same animal, the city plans to hand it over to a man in his 30s, identified as A, who previously claimed to be the original owner.

Man A appeared at the search site on August 11 and stated, "That lizard is my pet that I lost about a month ago."

Nile monitor lizards are primarily active during the day and possess mild venom. They are listed as Appendix II species under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), meaning adopters must report the transfer and acquisition to the regional environmental office.

If it is confirmed that proper reporting procedures, such as failing to secure relevant documents, were not followed, penalties of up to 1 million won in fines may be imposed.

Meanwhile, the police have been conducting a preliminary investigation (internal probe) into Man A on charges of violating the Wildlife Protection Act.

Now that the actual animal has been secured, the police plan to determine the exact ownership, check for any illegalities, and review measures such as a formal booking and the imposition of fines.

Previously, the lizard became known when an 18-second video of it wandering around a walking trail deck earlier this month was shared in a resident group chat.

Suwon City and fire authorities had previously set up seven capture traps baited with raw chicken and requested a net gun from the National Institute of Ecology to conduct the search.
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.