Saturday, July 19, 2025

Large lizard named Goose is on the loose in Webster

A Massachusetts neighborhood is on high alert this weekend after a 5-foot lizard escaped from a local home.

The water monitor lizard, named Goose, snuck out of a home in Webster on Friday, and its whereabouts remained unknown Saturday evening, local officials said. Police conducted a limited search of the area around the home for the lizard, which was owned illegally.

They used drones to check pools nearby, according to a Webster Animal Control Facebook post.

After consulting with professionals, police called off the search Friday night.

“We were notified many hours after he went missing, so he could honestly be anywhere,” a spokesperson for Webster Animal Control told the Globe Saturday.

Water monitor lizards are known to travel, climb trees, and seek out water. They do not attack humans or dogs and cats, animal control said in the post.



Police are urging Webster residents to call animal control or the police department if they spot the lizard. They strongly advise residents against approaching the lizard themselves.

Water monitors can reach lengths exceeding eight feet, according to the US Geological Survey (USGS). The lizards prey on invertebrates, fish, corpses, and feces.

The species is native to most of Southeast Asia and today largely populates the coasts of Florida. Water monitors in Florida and California are most likely escaped or released pets, according to a USGS webpage for the species.


Jade Lozada can be reached at jade.lozada@globe.com.

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