Wild water monitor, 1.5 meters long, caught in Ho Chi Minh City

The large tropical reptile – pregnant, about 14kg in weight and 1.5 meters in length – was caught by the local residents living near the Rach Bang River at 4:30 pm on July 30.

A dweller then asked to buy the creature and phoned the Ho Chi Minh City-based Saigon Zoo and Botanical Garden to take care of her.

She was handed to the staff of the zoo at 8:00 pm.

The zoo is currently taking care of three male individuals of this species, according to a zookeeper, who said that the facility will make her a nest for breeding.

Water monitors, also known as Varanus salvator, are the largest tropical lizards in Vietnam, according to the Saigon Zoo and Botanical Garden.

Their typical habitats are riverbanks in mountainous areas and highlands; they can also be found in mangrove forests and at river estuaries.

Highly mobile on land, water monitors also swim well and they can remain underwater for up to half an hour.