Rampaging monitor lizard raids supermarket and climbs on shelves in search of food

Rampaging monitor lizard raids supermarket and climbs on shelves in search of food

This is the terrifying moment a rampaging giant monitor lizard raided a supermarket and climbed on shelves in search of food.

The 6ft long reptile emerged from a nearby canal and ran into the 7-Eleven store sparking panic yesterday afternoon (April 6) in Nakhon Pathom, Thailand.

Staff and customers hid behind the counter while the beast climbed onto shelves and tossed several cartons of milk onto the ground.

A worried shop assistant called the police who arrived with reptile handlers to snare the ferocious monitor lizard shortly after lunchtime.

Shocked customer Narumpa Tangsin said: ‘I only stopped at the shop to buy some food and then saw the huge monitor lizard inside.

I wanted to buy a drink but the animal was too close to the drinks aisle.

‘They’re dangerous animals, especially when they’re angry, so I stayed back and recorded it on my phone.

I guess that shops have everything, even for lizards.’ The rescue team arrived at the shop on the outskirts of the capital Bangkok and dragged the monitor lizard out of the store before ushering it away into nearby undergrowth.

Despite its rampage through the grocery shop, the monitor lizard had not managed to take any food.

The unusually large creature is believed to have struggled to find food outside, following months of dry weather with little rain which has lead to many canals and lakes drying up.

Asian water monitor lizards live in canals and ponds in large cities in Thailand where they feed on fish, snakes, frogs and scraps of food left by humans.

They are aggressive when threatened and have a mildly venomous bite which sometimes carries harmful bacteria.