Clean-up in rept-aisle four! Moment 6ft-long monitor lizard climbs up supermarket shelves as it raids store for food
- Reptile sparked panic after it ran into 7-Eleven store in Nakhon Pathom, Thailand
- Staff and customers hid behind counter as the beast rampaged through store
- Shop assistant called police who arrived with reptile handlers to snare the lizard
Shoppers got more than they bargained for when a six-foot monitor lizard raided a supermarket and clambered over shelves in search of food.
The giant reptile sparked panic after it emerged from a nearby canal and ran into the 7-Eleven store in Nakhon Pathom, Thailand, yesterday.
Staff and customers hid behind the counter as the beast rampaged through the store and tossed food and drink cartons to the ground.
A shop assistant then alerted the police who arrived with reptile handlers to snare the unexpected visitor.
The giant reptile sparked panic after it emerged from a nearby canal and ran into the 7-Eleven store in Nakhon Pathom, Thailand, yesterday
The lizard scrambled to the top of the shelves, knocking products to the floor as it goes, with shoppers shouting in the background
In the clip, recorded on April 6, the lizard can be seeing clawing at one of the chilled cabinets as bewildered shoppers watch on.
But it is unable to open the door and so turns its attention to the nearby shelves.
It then scrambles to the top, knocking products to the floor as it goes, with shoppers shouting in the background.
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.’
A worried shop assistant later called the police who arrived with reptile handlers to snare the unexpected visitor
Despite its rampage through the grocery shop, the monitor lizard had not managed to take any food (customer taking a selfie with the lizard in the store)
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 did not manage 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.
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.