'Sleepy' iguana awakens, frightens woman

STOCKHOLM, Sweden, July 25 (UPI) -- A woman carrying a sleepy 5-foot iguana she found while walking home in Stockholm, Sweden, panicked when it woke up, officials said.

"She got scared and called the police when it started to come back to life," police spokeswoman Christina Johansson said. "There's a unit now making its way to Skansen Aquarium with the iguana."

Iguanas, which are herbivores and native to Central American forests can live more than 20 years and grow to 8 feet, but an aquarium official said they are becoming a more common sight in Swedish woods during the summer vacation season, The Local reported Sunday.

"There was a time when people would throw out their summer cats. Now people throw out their summer reptiles before going on holiday," Jonas Wahlstrom at Skansen Aquarium said.

The iguana is not the largest animal to end up at the Skansen Aquarium, The Local said.

"Two old ladies were out picking berries in Huddinge when they happened upon a 20-foot-long boa constrictor that weighed 185 pounds. We went out and rescued the snake while the police rescued the ladies," Wahlstrom said.