Monster Kabaraya!

I was at the computer, early morning, when I heard a loud racket. Sounded like Toby was chasing a chipmunk. The sound was volcanic! Couldn’t be a chipmunk, I thought. I got up to investigate and lo and behold there was a 1+meter (3.30+foot) long Kabaraya (a monitor lizard) wedged between the glass patio door and the metal security grate. It was trying to scramble up the door to get away from Toby. What a racket. Toby barking, the glass door rattling, the metal grate shaking!

I freaked. I’ve seen smaller monitor lizards in canals and on the grassy edges of canals, but never one in my house! Its girth was a good foot wide (.3 meter). It was the size of a crocodile!

After I backed Toby off, the monitor – shall I call it Jumbo? – wriggled its way out onto the floor and up onto my dining room chair.  That’s it, I thought, I’m outta here. I took Toby into the office and shut the door. But I didn’t stay there long. When I went back to the dining room, Jumbo had moved into the kitchen. By the kitchen sink, on the floor, facing away from the 2^nd kitchen door. That was the one way out, but the door was closed. I had to brave walking through the main kitchen and opening the door. I did, but the buggar hissed at me. Scared me to death. I wasn’t afraid that it would bite me, but that it would whip its tail and cut me. I grabbed a broom and tried to shoo it toward the now open door.

Hiss, hiss!

Eek! Eek! I ran to the office and shut Toby and me in. Let Jumbo find his own way out!

I wrote on FaceBook about my dilemma. No one had a good solution. People said that monitors don’t bite. But had they see one as big as Jumbo? As hissy as him?

Several minutes passed and I ventured out without Toby. I peeked in all the corners going to the kitchen. I peeked into the kitchen. My heart was pounding. I didn’t want to end up face-to-face with the monster.

I couldn’t find him anywhere. I searched the entire house, downstairs and upstairs. Nothing. I searched outside. Still nothing.

The rest of the day was spent locked in the office. Jumbo could've been hiding, playing a trick on me.

I still don’t understand how a water monitor ended up at my house. The beach is 8 minutes away, but they don’t live in salt water. There are no drains that he’d like in the neighborhood. It remains a mystery. But I still look around when I enter the dining room and the kitchen. Just in case.

In my panic, I didn't think to take a picture of Jumbo,

so I downloaded this from Wikipedia.

.

A full view of one of Jumbo's relatives. 

(from Wikipedia)

How in the world did it get in between

the grate and the door? It must have

streamlined itself in the face of danger (Toby!).

Check out my photography website at: http://www.shadetreeSL.com

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