Joint effort to save lizard from pot

RESCUERS took three hours to free a Nile monitor from a stormwater pipe in Prospecton, south of Durban, after residents tried to make it their dinner.

The 2m-long male lizard had become stuck in debris inside the 300mm pipe that links into the main storm drain next to a factory. A snake and reptile rescue team was called out to assist earlier this week.

Rescuer Shaun Venter said the drain was clogged with debris and sediment and the monitor had been in it for three days.

“From the information we gathered, someone had tried to catch the monitor on Saturday. They threw stones at it before it crawled into the storm pipe.

“The factory owner was concerned for its safety and called us for assistance,” Venter said.

Venter saw the lizard’s tail protruding from the debris. Its head was buried deep in the pipe. He tried to get it out by its tail but the lizard did not budge.

Fearing he may injure it, he dug a trench around the pipe to reach the lizard’s head.

“The decision was made to break the pipe ahead of it and block its path to ensure it didn’t move further in.

“It took myself and volunteers three hours to dig the trench and chip away at the pipe with a hammer.

“We estimated where the head would be. I created a space to pull it out by its head,” he said.

He was concerned that grabbing it by the tail could harm the monitor. Venter said the lizard could have lost its back right leg in its infancy because of predators.

“I don’t give up… I came to save an animal in need of assistance. It was such an amazing feeling. It is a wonderful creature and to be able to save its life is fantastic.

“I bagged it and took it to a safe location where I released it,” Venter said.

Venter posted a 126-second video on Facebook showing the monitor being released. It shows him taking the lizard from the bag and leaving it on a roadway near dense bush.

The reptile is seen moving its tail, trying to keep Venter at bay. It turns back in Venter’s direction, still moving its tail from left to right, and then crawls into dense bush.

HAPPY ENDING: Shaun Venter, snake and reptile rescuer, with volunteers and the Nile monitor that was rescued from a drain pipe this week. Venter said the creature had been hiding from locals who had wanted to eat it.