Hunt for owner of monitor lizard

Animal services officers in California are looking for the owner of a five-foot-long lizard that was found wandering around a condo complex.

Animal services spokesman John Welsh said someone spotted the wayward lizard in Riverside.

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 Ms Selter’s vehicle that is usually used for carrying large dogs.

Mr Welsh said the animal is well-behaved for a monitor lizard, and it 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 someone will claim it soon.

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