Kadoorie issues plea after 1.5m long Water Monitor Lizard goes missing

Kadoorie Farm & Botanic Garden has on Friday urged people to report possible sightings of a 1.5 meter-long Water Monitor Lizard that escaped from his enclosure.

The farm said the lizard named Aberdeen has been an exhibit at the Reptile Lookout of KFBG for over eight years and has been a model reptile ambassador for thousands of visitors during this time.

Aberdeen is approximately 1.5m long and was originally seized from the illegal pet trade in Hong Kong and rehomed to KFBG.

Attaching the reptile’s photos online, the farm said Aberdeen is not aggressive but should not be trapped or cornered as he is strong and will try to escape.

“Any sightings should be immediately reported to staff at KFBG who will recapture Aberdeen,” it wrote.

According to KFBG, Aberdeen escaped from a temporary enclosure on August 11 while undergoing medical treatment for a damaged toe. It was said that the animal managed to push out a wooden panel and squeeze out through a small gap in the enclosure.

The farm said Aberdeen’s escape has been reported to the authorities as they keep him under a special licence linked to their wildlife rescue work.

“Staff have been searching every day but without luck so far. We are hoping he is still around, but monitor lizards are known to forage over large distances so he may have moved further away already. We are concerned that he might get injured or killed on the busy road adjacent to KFBG.

“Please help us to find and return Aberdeen to his spacious enclosure where he can continue providing a memorable experience to all those children and adults visiting KFBG and remind visitors how lizards like Aberdeen once roamed wild in Hong Kong,” the farm added.

Any information or sightings of Aberdeen the Water Monitor, can be reported to KFBG at:
Tel: 2483 7122/2483 7200
Mobile: 6713 9881
Email: fauna@kfbg.org

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Monitor Lizard facts

Did you know that water monitors (Varanus salvator) were once native to Hong Kong, before becoming extinct several decades ago due to hunting and urban development?

In the past, water monitors like Aberdeen would have roamed around the rural areas close to human habitation looking for rats, fish and carrion to feed on. Although they may look formidable, monitors play an important role in nature by scavenging carcasses of dead animals and feeding on rodents – they are nature’s refuse collectors.

Even today in the urban parks of Singapore and Thailand you can watch water monitors like Aberdeen walking around close to people, searching for food and swimming in water channels. Like the Singapore and Thai monitors, Aberdeen is not a threat to people and will be more frightened by human encounters than we are of him.