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It added that the agency was aware of the lizard's presence in the wild for over a year, and has been "setting traps and searching high and low."
When captured, the animal measured 20 pounds in weight and five feet and two inches in length.
In August, a monitor was spotted in a Davie, Fla., backyard. It walked up to a home and looked into a window.
"They swim. It's a water monitor. He can swim fast, run fast and get a hold of the kids fast," homeowner Zach Lieberman said. "One bite from him and it could be devastating. Some of my other neighbors have seen him out by the lake. He sunbathes in the back yard."