[Anchor]

A large lizard measuring nearly 1 meter in length has appeared at an apartment complex in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province. Authorities have launched a search but have yet to find it, raising concerns among residents as the area is densely populated with schools and day care centers.

Reporter Yoo Soo-Hwan has the details.

[Reporter]

A large lizard crawls along one side of a walking trail.

Measuring around 1 meter in body length, the lizard flicks its long tongue before disappearing.

This footage was recently captured on a walking trail at an apartment complex in the Gwanggyo New Town, Suwon, Gyeonggi Province.

Experts have estimated the creature to be a Nile monitor lizard, a species native to Africa.

[Kang Gyu-ho / Senior Researcher, Animal Protection Department, National Institute of Ecology: It appears to be a two-year-old approaching adulthood. (South Korea) is an environment where such a large lizard cannot survive, so it seems someone either abandoned it, threw it away, or it escaped.]

The Nile monitor lizard is classified as a CITES Appendix II endangered species, requiring government notification to import into the country.

While venomous it is not, adults can grow up to 2 meters long and may attack humans if they feel threatened.

[Kang Gyu-ho / Senior Researcher, Animal Protection Department, National Institute of Ecology: (If bitten) you would be badly hurt because their teeth are sharp. They bite and shake violently. It definitely needs to be captured, even for the animal's sake.]

Residents are growing increasingly anxious as the lizard was spotted in an area densely packed with elementary schools, day care centers, and libraries.

[Jung Mi-hye / Resident, Gwanggyo New Town, Suwon: From the apartments all the way to the walking trails, everything is connected as a school commute route. There are a lot of kids in this neighborhood. Very young children. Because the lizard is so big, it could be dangerous.]

Although Suwon City and firefighting authorities searched the surrounding area, they failed to find the lizard, and a nearby elementary school sent text messages to parents advising caution.

Meanwhile, Suwon City is currently verifying claims from a man who stepped forward as the lizard's owner, stating that he lost the animal a month ago.

Previously, on June 18, a Siamese crocodile—a CITES Appendix I endangered species—was discovered and captured in the Soyang Stream in Yeoju, Gyeonggi Province.

(Camera: Kim Nam-sung | Video Editing: Kim Ho-jin)