WEBSTER, MASS. (WHDH) - Goose is no longer on the loose.
The giant Water Monitor lizard from Webster was finally captured after escaping from home two weeks ago.
Police say Goose’s owner brought the reptile here from New Hampshire, but didn’t get the special permit required to possess the lizard.
“Goose escaped through a screen window,” Captain Scott Amati of the Massachusetts Environmental police said.
Investigators looked for Goose for weeks. After several reported sightings on social media, including across state lines in Connecticut and in neighboring Douglas.
A local DCR worker spotted Goose by the Douglas State Forest.
“[He was] 10-15 feet off the street,” Zachary Poitras of DCR said.
“Zach had found a small cavern underneath the root of a tree, which is in direct line of where the animal was, that we had just missed due to the vegetation. I looked in there and there’s a tongue sticking out at me,” said Captain Amati.
While experts are still working to determine whether Goose is a boy or girl, they believe the four-foot lizard is between the ages of 5 and 8.
Goose is scheduled to get checked out by a veterinarian on Tuesday before starting a new chapter at an animal sanctuary with a specially designed permanent habitat.
“Our top priority is always the animals and we want to make sure they can thrive in our care,” Mack Ralbovsky said, Vice President of Rainforest Reptile Shows.
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