Freakishly giant goanna lizard pays visit to Australian home

 By 
Johnny Lieu
 on 
Original image replaced with Mashable logo
Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable

Australia has its fair share of giant animal visitors to their homes, but this one just might be the freakiest.

Eric Holland from Thurgoona in New South Wales was relaxing in his shed earlier this week, when he came across a 1.5 metre (5 foot) goanna lizard hanging on the side of his house.

A quick-thinking Holland luckily snapped a photograph, making sure that he could tell the tale later.

Now that's a lizard https://t.co/lmd3YC7f3y pic.twitter.com/Vd6honA2UE— smh.com.au (@smh) December 3, 2015

"Well it was a bloody big shock mate," Holland told radio station 2GB in an interview on Friday morning. "I nearly trod on the bloody thing."

The goanna is actually a mature Lace Monitor, which can grow to 2 metres (6.5 feet) long and weigh 20 kilograms (44 lbs).

The Lace Monitor is common in the region where Holland resides, according to the New South Wales Office of Environment and Heritage. However, Holland says it's the first time he's seen one in the 18 years he's lived in the area, according to the Border Mail.

Hopefully our new goanna mate will be kind enough to call ahead next visit, just so we can avoid the fuss.

[h/t] Border Mail

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