Six-Foot Nile Monitor Found Near Playing Children

The Nile Monitor is a lizard native to Africa than can grow to over seven feet in length. They have sharp claws for digging and strong jaws and teeth. Some people in the United States choose to keep them as pets. That's fine if you have studied the care of the Nile Monitor, and are prepared to house, feed and care for a seven foot lizard that prefers a diet of live animals. Not for me, but if that's your thing, fine. The trouble with Nile Monitors as pets, however, is that prospective owners don't always prepare for the full adult size of the lizard. Sometimes when the animal gets too large to handle in the home, owners will release Nile Monitors into the wild. That's apparently what happened in Grant's Pass, Oregon.

Children and Pets Threatened by Nile Monitor

The Associated Press reports that Ryan Nelson found an adult six foot long Nile Monitor in his yard where his young children were playing. While small children are likely too big to be considered as prey for the Nile Monitor, curiosity could lead to a dangerous confrontation. The Nile Monitor is certainly capable of inflicting severe or even life-threatening injuries to small children. Small pets, like my own seven pound Miniature Dachshund would certainly be on the menu for an adult Nile Monitor lizard. While Mr. Nelson was able to safely cage the lizard with the help of a local pet store employee, this could have been an ugly incident.

Nile Monitors Now Established in Florida Wilds

Similar incidents of pet owners releasing overgrown Nile Monitors have resulted in viable breeding colonies being established in large areas of Florida, according to the US Geological Survey. With so much of the rich wildlife heritage of the United States already under severe pressure for its survival, introducing new populations of invasive predators to an already strained habitat may mean the difference between survival and extinction for some threatened native species. Invasive species can either prey on native animals or out compete them for living space and food.

Smaller Invasive Species Do More Damage

Other invasive species have done tremendous damage in the United States. Some are so successful here that many forget they are not native. The Japanese beetle is endemic to nearly the entire United States, even though it first arrived in North America less than 100 years ago. The warm climate and isolated wilderness areas of Florida have seen such top of the food chain predators as boa constrictors and pythons establish growing populations there. While it is usually the smaller invasive insects that wreak the most damage to our crops and natural ecosystems, the establishment of larger invasive species such as the Nile Monitor are entirely preventable as they are almost always due to the intentional or careless release of pets into the wild.