A giant lizard was found on a tree in a housing estate in Kowloon on Monday afternoon.
A photo of the green reptile was posted on Facebook at 2pm noting how people spotted the lizard on a tree outside Block 1 of Tsui Chuk Garden in Wong Tai Sin in Kowloon. They said the lizard was about four feet long.
Netizens were shocked to see the large animal in downtown and wondered if the lizard came out for food after two typhoons hit Hong Kong last week. Others suspected that it was abandoned by a former owner.
Staff from the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department received a report about the lizard and caught it later that day.
According to the officers, the lizard is 90 centimeters long and in good health. It was sent to the New Territories North Animal Management Centre for further observation, Ming Pao Daily reported.
Chan Man-ho, conservation officer for the Hong Kong Society of Herpetology Foundation, said the lizard is a Physignathus cocincinus – or Chinese Water Dragon – which is a species of agamid lizard native to southwest China and Thailand. They are under threat, as people catch them as pet animals, topick.com reported.
Same lizard seen 2 weeks back on the Hong Kong trail
Same kind of lizard � saw in Jordan valley park