Janesville police keeping eye out for second lizard

JANESVILLE — Police aren’t closing the book on Janesville’s lizard saga just yet, amid widespread disagreement on whether a second one might still be on the loose.

Officers on Wednesday night corralled a 4-foot lizard at 613 Williams St., but the homeowner insists “Peter Pan” isn’t the same intruder she saw in her backyard Sept. 28.

A police investigation that began when the reptile was first sighted a week ago revealed a second monitor lizard could be at large.

Animal caretakers Thursday compared photographs taken by residents with the lizard captured Wednesday, matching light-colored patches and stripes along its rough exterior.

“I think it’s the same one,” said Heather Suchomel, project director at The Serpent Sanctuary near Cottage Grove. “When you’re not standing next to him, he looks a lot bigger than he really is.”

Jim Hurley, Rock County Humane Society operations manager, said it’s difficult to tell, but there did appear to be slight differences in some spots along his back legs.

Amber Downing provided police with photographs that she said show two lizards of different size and markings. One picture shows “a horizontal rectangular white marking … up and down the back,” which doesn’t match the lizard taken into custody by the humane society, according to a police report.

“We really don’t know (if there’s another),” Janesville Police Sgt. Brian Donohoue said. “This case is not closed. We’re still running things down, really hoping that if there is a second one out there we get the call (that) it’s spotted before it freezes to death.”

Donohoue said when police captured the lizard it didn’t put up a fight. Milwaukee County Zoo officials told him the cold weather makes them more docile than normal.

Police first received information about the lizard’s origin Sept. 29. An anonymous caller said a man living in the 1000 block of Laurel Avenue might have released his two lizards—a Nile monitor lizard and Savannah monitor lizard—before moving to Kentucky.

The woman told police the man admitted letting the lizards free at Traxler Park, after earlier telling her he broke their necks.

Officers were able to contact the man’s wife. She made no mention of a second lizard, but said they did give one to her husband’s brother before they left for Kentucky nearly three years ago.

The brother lived with his uncle, who told police he gave the lizard away about two years ago because he was tired of caring for it. He said someone living in the 300 or 400 block of South Main Street took it in, but he couldn’t recall a name or exact address.

Donohoue said police still are trying to locate the lizard’s last owner and hopefully learn if a second one does exist.

Peter Pan, whose original name might have been “Natas” based on previous owners, was transferred to The Serpent Sanctuary on Thursday afternoon.

Hurley said he believes the reptile is female. It had not been fed yet because caregivers first have to raise the animal’s body temperature so it can properly digest food, Hurley said.