Monitor lizard rescued from DLF4 house in Gurgaon

The lizard had entered the house of Gurgaon businessman who panicked, but later called Wildlife SOS to rescue the reptile

A family in DLF Phase 4 spent their Saturday morning in panic after finding a three-foot-long monitor lizard roaming in their backyard. The reptile was finally taken away after they called the animal rescue organisation Wildlife SOS at their number 011-46601096.

The residents of the house panicked on seeing the lizard and put up its photos on Facebook, asking people what to do.

“Our children informed us that a mongoose had entered our backyard and was struggling to climb the wall. I rushed out and saw that it was a big lizard. I looked it up on Google and also uploaded its photos on Facebook to find out if it is dangerous,” said Harpreet Singh Ghulati, 40, the businessman in whose house the lizard was found.

“We waited for four hours. I was scared as the children were at home and people told me that the animal is dangerous,” he said.

Ghulati then called the Wildlife SOS team and informed them about the lizard. “The team arrived in half an hour and rescued the lizard. They also told us that it was not dangerous and they will release it soon,” he said.

During this time, the monitor lizard was trying to climb the boundary walls of the backyard to reach the terrace, but all its attempts failed. It then tried to hide under a washing machine while the family stood panicked.

“I had seen this lizard in Delhi zoo as a child, but did not know whether it was harmful. The comments of people on Facebook scared us,” said Ghulati.

However, Geeta Seshamani, co-founder of Wildlife SOS, said, “The teams have rescued the lizard. It is not dangerous, it’s harmless for humans”.

“Monitor lizards are not poisonous and neither do they breathe out poisonous fumes. These are superstitious myths and have no basis in reality. Monitor lizards are eaten by many tribals, boiled alive to make oils said to cure rheumatism or arthritis and victimised mercilessly. People should not fear them or kill them. They are not a danger to people. They are an important part of our ecosystem and should simply be left alone,” she added.