May 11 (UPI) — An Arizona man out doing yard work was surprised to see the world’s second-largest lizard take a dip in his backyard pool.
Eric Johnson said he was working outside his home in Peoria, about 13 miles northwest of Phoenix, when he heard something splash into his pool.
“It almost sounded like a baseball jumping in the pool,” Johnson told FOX 10 Phoenix. “I didn’t know if it was venomous, if it was going to attack me.”
Alex Roszkowski, director of operations at the Phoenix Herpetological Sanctuary, identified the swimmer as an Asian water monitor, the second-largest species of lizard after the komodo dragon.
Asian water monitors, native to south and southeast Asia, typically range from 4 to 6 feet long as adults, but have been known to reach lengths of up to 10.5 feet.
Johnson snapped photos of the visitor as it swam in his pool and climbed out for some sunbathing.
“So it seemed like it was sweet and friendly and it kind of just laid there, but I wasn’t trying to go test that theory, you know,” Johnson said.
He said the lizard left on its own after about 20 minutes.
“He looked happy swimming in the pool,” Johnson said.
Roszkowski said the water monitor was almost certainly an escaped pet.
