Newport Officers Are Off to Seize the Lizard

Newport Beach animal control officers are using traps baited with chicken in an effort to capture an elusive, 4-foot lizard that sent a scare through Balboa Coves when it was mistaken for a caiman--a Latin American cousin of the alligator.

The creature has not been seen for 2 weeks, said Officer Robert Oakley, police spokesman. “So there’s a possibility that it might have drifted on,” he said.

If the lizard is caught, Oakley said, animal control officers will turn it over to the state Department of Fish and Game, “and let them worry about it.”

“It could turn out to be a real common lizard, possibly someone’s pet,” he said. “The zoo might not even want it.”

City animal control officers first saw the lizard about a month ago, Oakley said. But the creature gained notoriety only after the Balboa Coves homeowners’ association distributed a flyer warning residents that the thing was a dangerous caiman.

Although animal control officials now say the creature is harmless, Oakley sympathizes with frightened Balboa Coves residents.

“I can guarantee you, if I saw a 4-foot lizard in my immediate vicinity, I wouldn’t think it was funny, because I don’t get along with reptiles,” he said. “You can imagine walking out your front door and having a 4-foot lizard looking you in the face.”