Hunting for iguana in Lommel. — © TV Limburg
Lommel –
A large iguana, or at least something that looks like it, has been spotted in the Lommel Sahara. Both the fire brigade and the Nature Aid Center are ready to catch the exotic species as soon as it shows up again. Yet Sil Janssen has his doubts about the image.
Monday, April 15, 2024 at 11:37 AM
The message with a photo of the ‘strange’ animal was spread via social media on Sunday. The city of Lommel is appealing to walkers to help catch the animal. Anyone who sees the lizard is asked to call the fire brigade. Catching it yourself is certainly not an option, although the iguana will not attack. It is better to just wait for the fire brigade. The animal will then be taken to the Nature Assistance Center.
“We are in contact with the fire brigade. If they are notified, we will also leave. But there is no point in searching haphazardly,” says Sil Janssen of the Nature Aid Center. “Nobody knows exactly where the animal was spotted. As far as we know, it is just an observation. We did not have any other reports over the weekend.” It is certain that the animal in the photo has escaped or been dumped somewhere. Such a lizard does not live in the wild here.
From the photo on social media, Janssen cannot deduce exactly which animal it is. “It doesn’t really look like an iguana. Then I would rather say it is a monitor lizard. I would say wait and see if the animal is still seen.”
(Read more below the photo)
© Daniel Pasmans via Stad Lommel
Bite
The iguana and the monitor lizard – both lizards – bite if you try to catch them. “They also flick their tails. Therefore, if you spot the animal, call the fire brigade. The temperatures are not such that the cold-blooded animal can quickly run away. It’s too chilly for that. And whether such an animal will survive for long is doubtful in the spring. At night the temperature drops to below 5 degrees. That is very cold for such a lizard. Then they are motionless.”
Meat
The major difference between an iguana and a monitor lizard is that the former is a herbivore and the latter is a carnivore. “Iguanas eat plants and fresh leaves. A monitor lizard needs meat. For example, I’m thinking of mice or other carcasses.”
Monitor lizards are found in parts of Asia, Africa and Australia. Iguanas are only found on the American continent and the Fiji Islands.(mm,gvb)
The Lommel fire brigade can be reached on 011/54.29.00. For more questions about the iguana, please contact the environmental service on 011/399.799.
