(NBC/WBBH) - A 4-foot long Nile monitor lizard was trapped Wednesday in Southwest Florida neighborhood.
Cape Coral residents said they called trappers fearing the rather large reptile might make a meal of small pets.
Officials believe the lizard is making a home in the area because a group of owls are burrowing nearby and that's the kind of food the Nile monitor lizard eats.
Residents say they are just glad the reptile was caught.
"They're just evil. I mean they're one step from a Komodo Dragon for God sake," said Clark Sweeney, Cape Coral resident. "They are an invasive predator that has a toxic bite and they kill endangered owls."
Burrowing owls, a protected species in the Cape Coral, are on the list of things the lizards like to eat, prompting the city to trap the invasive species.
