28-6-2024 (SINGAPORE) A Punggol resident found himself face-to-face with an unwelcome guest – a monitor lizard that had wandered into his 11th-storey home on Thursday (Jun 27) evening.
Jeffrey Toh, the resident, was away at the office when he received a frantic call from his domestic helper around 5 pm, alerting him to the reptilian intruder. Through his living room’s closed-circuit television (CCTV) feed, Toh witnessed the lizard climb through the locked gates of his Housing and Development Board (HDB) flat and leisurely roam around the living area, exploring under the TV console and sofa.
As Toh rushed home from work, he quickly enlisted the help of his father, who lives in the same block, and a neighbour. Together, they chased the reptile with brooms, trapping it on the balcony by locking the sliding doors.
The trapped monitor lizard, undeterred by its confinement, proceeded to thoroughly explore the balcony, knocking over plants and lounging on the ledge.
Toh called the police, who directed him to the Animal Concerns Research and Education Society (Acres). However, with the charity’s response team unavailable for a few hours, Toh contacted the National Parks Board (NParks), and a two-man team arrived two hours later.
Using thongs and blankets, the NParks officers successfully captured the lizard and placed it in a cage, ending the unexpected encounter.
“(The experience was) very, very interesting. I have no idea how it climbed up. Coming up 11 floors is quite ridiculous. Luckily, we trapped it on the balcony,” Toh recounted, expressing relief at the outcome.
The reptile’s size was so significant that Toh could see it sprawled on his balcony ledge from the opposite block while waiting for NParks’ officers to arrive. He estimated the monitor lizard to be about 1.5 meters long.
While Toh’s father was “quite excited” to witness the reptilian visitor, their domestic helper, who was preparing dinner when the incident occurred, jumped onto the dining table in fright.
Toh captured the house invasion on video and shared the incident on the Waterway Terraces II residents’ Facebook group, sparking mixed reactions from neighbors. Some called the reptile “Godzilla’s grandson,” while others wondered how it could have climbed 11 stories.
Toh speculated that the monitor lizard could be a neighbor’s pet, noting its clean appearance and distinct markings.
It is illegal under Singapore’s Wildlife Act to remove wild animals, including monitor lizards, from the wild. However, sightings of wild animals, such as monkeys, wild boars, snakes, and monitor lizards, are not uncommon in Punggol due to its waterway and forested areas.
NParks advises that wild animals, including monitor lizards, are naturally shy and usually stay away from humans, only attacking when provoked.
