A Florida resident spotted one of the creatures sunning itself in his backyard.The exotic pet trade has a way of introducing destructive and potentially dangerous creatures to places in which they don't belong, and Florida's sunny, warm climate makes for a perfect home for many of these invasive species.

People buy a small snake, lizard, or colorful fish, and when it gets too big to handle, they dump it in an area in which they figure it will fit in. But if these unleashed creatures fit in too well, they not only thrive in their new homes — but without natural predators they can wreak havoc on the surrounding ecosystem, unbalancing it and potentially wiping out the native animals....

But another creature that Florida wildlife officers are trying to get a handle on is the Nile monitor lizard, a cousin of the most famous monitor lizard, the Komodo dragon, which has been spreading through the state since at least 1990....

And while they don't usually menace humans unless provoked (though one pet-education website says they "can inflict serious wounds to an inexperienced handler&quot , they are most definitely threats to local burrowing owls, tortoises, and other creatures. They have "even been known to eat cats," according to the Sun Sentinel.