Neighbors say there's a lizard on the loose in WG
The critter, possibly a monitor lizard, has been spotted several times and become a crawling celebrity
By Chantal Lamers
Since an oversized lizard slithered down a drain pipe in Willow Glen July 20, a minor media circus has broken out in the neighborhood, with camera crews cruising the area around Aragon Way and Magala Drive, looking for the animal.
Marcia Mayeda, Santa Clara Valley Humane Society's director of community outreach, believes its a Nile monitor lizard that has taken up residence in Willow Glen. A Nile monitor lizard, Mayeda says, can be purchased in a pet store and grow up to nine feet long. She says the lizard isn't venomous, though it can provide a good, defensive whack with its tail.
Magala Drive resident Cathy Casey says on July 21, news vans, animal control vehicles and police cars have been patrolling her street.
Casey has heard all sorts of tales about the lizard since it made its first appearance around July 7. Rumors are floating around that the lizard is two to five feet long, she says. Some neighbors think there are two lizards.
Casey's neighbor, Carolyn Bolander, says there are two lizards. Bolander said she and her mother were coming home from a walk July 20, when they spotted a two-foot lizard sitting on the curb. The lizard then crawled into a four-inch-wide drain pipe.
The larger lizard was spotted by Bolander's mother, Mary Disalvo. Disalvo, who lives behind on Aragon Way. She spotted a three-and-a-half-foot lizard walking across the fence almost two weeks ago.
"We're just a little bit more careful where we walk," Bolander says.
Mayeda says it's unlikely there's more than one lizard. "I'd be really surprised, it's odd to have one." But she's not discounting the possibility there are two. "It's not impossible, I just think it's really unlikely."
Mayeda says there are lots of stories about the size of the lizard. "It's like a fish story, it keeps getting bigger and bigger."
The lizard probably eats rats and small birds, she says. Mayeda says cats, dogs and children probably aren't in any danger.
The lizard was probably a pet that escaped or was freed by its owner, Mayeda says. She says the lizard should be able to survive outside through the summer. "They don't grow quickly," she says. "It won't be seven feet long by the end of the summer."
Residents who spot the lizard should call 911, or Animal Control at 408.727.6529, Mayeda says.
"We rely on residents who can keep a sharp eye out. We've gone out and tried to look for it, but it's like trying to find a needle in a haystack."
The last lizard to cause such an uproar, a seven-foot crocodile lizard, appeared in South San Jose in October 1998.
When it was caught, Mayeda says, a dozen police cars, a helicopter, a fire truck and the Humane Society's entire day shift all showed up to help.
"You notice a seven-foot lizard but," Mayeda says, "a two-foot lizard may be more difficult to find."
San Jose Police Department spokesperson Sgt. Steve Dixon says no one has come forward to claim the lizard or lizards.
Willow Glen, California Since 1992
