NORTH PORT, Fla. – A driver on Florida’s Gulf Coast stopped in her tracks when she saw a rare reptile nearly run into the road.
Renee Aland was driving in North Port with her 15-year-old daughter Zoey earlier this week, when she saw a 5-foot-long Monitor lizard.
“I saw what I thought at first glance was a large gator,” said Aland. “I did a doubletake as I drove past it seeing the lizard tongue.”
Aland called Florida Fish and Wildlife to report what she saw, but the officers said they would not even write a report without photographic evidence.
So, Aland went back to the scene of the spotting.
After waiting just five minutes, the big beast re-appeared.
Aland was ready and got video and pictures of the lizard, which can grow up to 10-feet-long and can run 12 miles per hour.
Scientists say some Monitor lizards use venom to kill small prey, but that the venom has a relatively mild effect on humans.
They are native to Africa, Asia, and Oceania, and are considered an invasive species in Florida.
North Port is just off I-75, about halfway between Fort Myers and Sarasota.