When Rachel Bond returned from her vacation of basking in the sun of Florida to the chilly northeast of England, she had an unexpected tiny guest tagging along with her in her suitcase.
This green anole lizard, a tree dweller native to the US, travelled across the ocean, 7,250 kilometers in total and landed in Rachel’s home.
She didn’t notice it while unpacking her luggage and only got to know when her mother let out a huge scream and said “There’s a lizard on my bedroom door.” The reptile is now safe with the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA), a charity in England after it was taken in by them.
Rachel Bond visited Orlando in the state of Florida and returned to her home in Whitley Bay of Northeast England this week. 54-year-old Bond suspected her 84-year-old was just seeing things when she talked about the reptile moving around their house.
“I wasn’t sure if it was her age that had caught up with her, but when I went upstairs she was adamant that she had seen the reptile go into her room. We had a good look around and then we found it under the pillow on her bed,” Bond said.
According to a BBC report, Bond said her mother felt very relieved that she didn’t wake up in the middle of the night with a lizard on her face.
The RSPCA said that the lizard would be rehabilitated in a zoo or park in England as it was unlikely that the lizard would be sent back to its native country. Lucy Green, RSPCA inspector said that the lizard was in fact “amazing” and “very lucky” that it survived “such an incredible journey.”
Bond remarked, “It is quite remarkable that the lizard managed to travel all that way unharmed,”. She added that she felt “sorry” for the little guy for ending up in a complete 180 degree of the weather condition he is used to. “After enjoying such nice warm weather, he ended up in Whitley Bay in winter,” she said.
According to Nature Journal, this lizard is native to the Caribbean islands. The species can be seen in Florida, Texas, and North Carolina.