SALISBURY — State, local and environmental police combed the grounds and area surrounding 37 Elm St. for hours yesterday, searching for an illegally imported 41�Ñ2-foot-long Nile monitor lizard that escaped from captivity on Thursday.
By 2:30 p.m. yesterday, the state police K-9 unit was brought in, hoping to pick up the scent of the 20-pound lizard, owned by Frank and Calandra Pinette, who kept the animal and other exotic pets at 37 Elm St. Police also went through the neighborhood, alerting residents. But unfortunately, the monitor remains illusive and is still at large.
"This is not Godzilla. He's not aggressive, but he shouldn't be messed with if you see him," said Mike Ralbovsky, a reptile expert called to the scene by environmental police yesterday. "If you sight him, keep your distance, call (police) and keep him in sight if you can until we get there."
The Nile monitor is about 20 pounds, consisting of about "half body, half tail and a big belly," Ralbovsky said. It's dark grayish-black with yellow spots, Ralbovsky said.
Although a carnivore, the animal is well cared for and well fed, and should not be a danger to dogs or cats or people unless it's harassed. It can move quickly, he said, and can give a nasty bite if threatened. The monitor is cold-blooded, he added, but if the temperature doesn't drop below 30 to 40 degrees, the monitor should be able to stay alive outdoors.
"This is an iguana-type lizard called a monitor," Ralbovsky said. "He's large but aloof. He just wants to be left alone. He's going to be very afraid."
By 4 p.m. yesterday, the search was called off because the temperature had dropped, said state Environmental Affairs spokeswoman Lisa Capone.
"Our reptile expert told us it was so cold the monitor was probably hunkered down for the night somewhere," Capone said. "We also think the weather (Saturday) will be too cold, too, although the environmental police will be in the area. When the sun comes out, and the monitor comes out to warm itself in the sun, that's when we expect people to spot it, because it's huge."
Police put up fliers in the area, asking people who sight the lizard not to touch it but to call 911. Environmental police can be called at 1-800-632-8075, Environmental Police Sgt. Bruce Parziale said.
When environmental officers and Ralbovsky initially arrived at the scene yesterday around noon along with a number of local police officers, they spoke to the Pinettes, immediately sweeping the area looking for the lizard and searching the house at 37 Elm St.
The Pinettes were issued summonses on two counts of the importation of illegal wildlife, charging they had the escaped Nile monitor and that another Savannah monitor was found in the house, Capone said. If convicted, each charge can result in fines of $100 to $500, she said.
Salisbury Animal Control Officer Harold Congdon said he received a call from a woman whose name he didn't recall on Thursday about the escaped animal, but she didn't tell him it was a large Nile monitor. When he got another call yesterday from the Board of Health telling him a neighbor reported a monitor was on the loose, however, he immediately called in the environmental police, which is policy.
"On Thursday, she said a lizard got loose; no one said it was a monitor," Congdon said yesterday. "I figured it was a lizard like a lot of people keep for pets. I drove by, but I didn't see anything. No one expects something this large to be in your backyard."
Ralbovsky said there were a number of exotic pets in the house, but only the two monitors are illegal to keep in the state of Massachusetts.
"In the house, I found a bearded dragon, a water dragon, a green iguana, a Savannah monitor and a boa constrictor," Ralbovsky said. "Along with the Nile monitor, only the other monitor is illegal to be kept in Massachusetts. All the others are legal pets. They were all well cared for and in very good condition."
Environmental police confiscated the Savannah monitor, but the other exotic pets were not taken.
Ralbovsky said keeping legal lizards like iguanas as pets is not uncommon. Legal lizards make good pets for many people, he said, especially those who have allergies to animals with fur.
Ralbovsky is a herpetologist with Rainforest Reptile Shows and is often called in on cases concerning reptiles, police said.
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