A giant South American lizard is not what you expect to find in Georgia.
“I could imagine that some people would run for the hills,” said Kathy Smith with the Georgia Herpetological Association and Rescue (GHAR).
The lizard is an Argentine black and white tegu.
As you might guess, it’s an exotic pet and invasive species from South America.
“A lot of them are being put up for adoption, and we’re finding that a lot of people are releasing them, which is not a good thing,” Smith said.
They’re legal to own with stipulations. They must be registered with the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, microchipped, and can’t be used for breeding.
When they’re caught, they get brought to Smith in Rockmart, south of Rome. She operates the GHAR, which rescues and rehabilitates reptiles.
“So, we take them in, work with them, and find the right home for them,” Smith said.
But outside the home, where they can be destructive, is where they don’t belong. They’ll eat almost anything, including eggs and crops, and can grow up to four feet long.
“An animal that’s not supposed to be out there shouldn’t be out there,” Smith said.
If you see one or think you have one roaming your property, don’t mess with it.
“The wrong thing to do would be to go up to it and catch it,” Smith said.
The lizards aren’t ordinarily aggressive unless threatened. Instead of channelling your inner Steve Irwin, snap a photo and send it to GHAR or the Georgia Department of Natural Resources.
Once captured, it’ll likely find its way to Smith--who currently has eight tegus amongst a host of other reptiles--where it can find a new home.
“They’re really the puppies of the reptile world,” Smith said.
A global technology outage grounded flights, disrupted hospitals and backed up border crossings in Canada on Friday, as issues persisted hours after problems with Microsoft services were said to be getting fixed.
The latest developments on the Canadian impacts of the global technology outage that is causing massive disruptions to companies and services around the world.
Canada's newly appointed top soldier warns our country may not be ready to respond to 'conventional' and 'unconventional' threats from adversarial state actors, especially with the thawing of the North changing the landscape.
A global technology outage linked to a faulty software update has had a ripple effect on a Canadian business.
A fire truck carried Corey Comperatore's flag-draped casket to a Pennsylvania church on Friday for the funeral of the former fire chief, who was shot and killed when a gunman tried to assassinate former U.S. president Donald Trump last weekend.
The top United Nations court said Israel's settlement policy in the West Bank and east Jerusalem violates international law, as it delivered a non-binding advisory opinion on the legality of Israel’s 57-year occupation of lands sought for a Palestinian state, a ruling that could have more effect on international opinion than it will on Israeli policies.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has named Steven MacKinnon as Canada's new minister of labour and seniors, filling a fresh vacancy on his front bench, left by outgoing minister Seamus O'Regan.
Marketing experts say two brands that recently had to recall plant-based milk contaminated with Listeria can come back from the deadly outbreak, but they must move quickly to regain consumer trust.
While tourists in Barcelona risk being squirted with water pistols, those in the town of Calpe on Spain’s Mediterranean coast face another threat: a hefty fine for reserving space on the beach for themselves.
The latest developments on the Canadian impacts of the global technology outage that is causing massive disruptions to companies and services around the world.
A global technology outage grounded flights, disrupted hospitals and backed up border crossings in Canada on Friday, as issues persisted hours after problems with Microsoft services were said to be getting fixed.
A global technology outage linked to a faulty software update has had a ripple effect on a Canadian business.
The Canadian Coast Guard is leading a search for a fishing vessel last heard from on Thursday night off the northeastern coast of Newfoundland.
Canadian families receiving Canada Child Benefit program payments can expect more cash in their cheques this Friday.
A global technology disruption spread to parts of Atlantic Canada Friday morning, affecting the government of Newfoundland and Labrador's online services and health-care information systems.
A major internet outage affecting Microsoft is disrupting flights, banks, media outlets and companies across the world, with problems continuing hours after the technology company said it was gradually fixing an issue affecting access to Microsoft 365 apps and services.
A judge in Milan has ordered an Italian journalist to pay 5,000 euros (nearly US$5,500) in damages to Premier Giorgia Meloni for making fun of her height in social media posts.
The final day of the Republican National Convention was underway in Milwaukee where Donald Trump made a lengthy speech.
A fire truck carried Corey Comperatore's flag-draped casket to a Pennsylvania church on Friday for the funeral of the former fire chief, who was shot and killed when a gunman tried to assassinate former U.S. president Donald Trump last weekend.
U.S. President Joe Biden's campaign is insisting anew that he is not stepping aside as he faces the stark reality that many Democrats at the highest levels want him to bow out of the 2024 election to make way for a new nominee and try to prevent widespread party losses in November.
The top United Nations court said Israel's settlement policy in the West Bank and east Jerusalem violates international law, as it delivered a non-binding advisory opinion on the legality of Israel’s 57-year occupation of lands sought for a Palestinian state, a ruling that could have more effect on international opinion than it will on Israeli policies.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has named Steven MacKinnon as Canada's new minister of labour and seniors, filling a fresh vacancy on his front bench, left by outgoing minister Seamus O'Regan.
The most striking thing about walking the floor of the Republican National Convention (RNC) is seeing just how much this is Donald Trump's party, CTV News' Vassy Kapelos says.
Elections Canada is suggesting possible changes to protect the political nomination process from foreign meddling, including barring non-citizens from helping choose candidates, requiring parties to publish contest rules and explicitly outlawing practices such as voting more than once.
Marketing experts say two brands that recently had to recall plant-based milk contaminated with Listeria can come back from the deadly outbreak, but they must move quickly to regain consumer trust.
Sealed bottles of tattoo and permanent makeup ink, including some marked as sterile, contained millions of potentially dangerous bacteria, according to new research by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
Two deaths as a result of a listeriosis outbreak linked to a plant-based milk recall are in Ontario, provincial health officials confirmed Thursday.
A global technology outage caused by a faulty software update grounded flights, knocked banks and media outlets offline, and disrupted hospitals, small businesses and other services on Friday, highlighting the fragility of a digitized world dependent on just a handful of providers.
As more people look to find love on dating apps and social media these days, so too are those looking to commit romance scams as artificial intelligence makes it harder to know what's real and what isn't.
Researchers say they know the 'Big One' is coming, but when should we expect it? Scientists say predicting when a megathrust earthquake will occur is a guessing game.
Film critic Richard Crouse offers a list of movies to watch when you need a mood boost.
The final trailer for the upcoming Marvel Studios blockbuster 'Deadpool & Wolverine' features a brief glimpse of Vancouver – hometown of star Ryan Reynolds.
Bob Newhart, the deadpan accountant-turned-comedian who became one of the most popular TV stars of his time after striking gold with a classic comedy album, has died at 94.
All the major Canadian grocers are now on board for a grocery code of conduct, paving the way for industry guidelines that have been several years in the making.
Netflix said on Thursday it added more than eight million subscribers in its second quarter as the streaming service benefited from a password-sharing crackdown and such titles as 'Bridgerton,' 'Baby Reindeer' and 'The Roast of Tom Brady.'
The company said 'millions' of customers also joined Prime in the past three weeks to take advantage of the discount event, which ended right before midnight Pacific Standard Time on Thursday.
What was your most thrilling first date? In 2016, two young Russians known for their extreme 'rooftopping' adventures skipped the perfunctory happy hour cocktail and instead ascended China’s tallest incomplete skyscraper, the 1,957-foot-high Goldin Finance 117.
While tourists in Barcelona risk being squirted with water pistols, those in the town of Calpe on Spain’s Mediterranean coast face another threat: a hefty fine for reserving space on the beach for themselves.
Halifax bridges have collected thousands of coins from around the world.
Tiger Woods has made an early exit from the Open Championship, but the US golfer has vowed to be back for the 2025 major.
It appears that not even race car drivers are immune to Toronto gridlock.
A special kind of iron curtain came down across central Paris on Thursday, with the beginning of an Olympic anti-terrorism perimeter along the banks of the River Seine sealing off a kilometres-long (miles-long) area to Parisians and tourists who hadn’t applied in advance for a pass.
Stellantis is warning the owners of more than 2,900 hybrid minivans in Canada to stop charging their vehicles and park them outdoors, away from buildings and other cars, due to the risk of battery fires.
Ford Motor Co. says it plans to assemble its F-Series Super Duty pickup trucks at its Oakville, Ont., assembly plant starting in 2026, adding capacity of up to 100,000 additional units.
Toronto traffic has reached the point of a congestion crisis, according to the Toronto Region Board of Trade, whose new numbers warn of a significant impact on the city’s economy.
Halifax bridges have collected thousands of coins from around the world.
A donated clawfoot bathtub has become the preferred lounging spot for a pair of B.C. grizzly bears, who have been taking turns relaxing and reclining in it – with minimal sibling squabbling – for the past year.
A pair of cemetery investigators are cleaning and preserving as many gravestones they have permission to work on, as they conduct their research and document gravestones.
After more than three years, a B.C. woman has been reunited with a lost family heirloom.
One of Edmonton’s main contributors to Google Street View is a man who dresses up as an alien.
Nearly 10 years after it was first proposed, an interactive piece of public art is officially open in Vancouver's Hastings Park.
An event July 22 at Dynamic Earth in Sudbury will mark the 60th anniversary of the iconic Big Nickel, the largest coin in the world.
Cyclist Jagjeet Singh cruised through Montreal on Sunday morning as he rides across the country to raise money for a children's charity.
A rare ammonite fossil – about 75 million years old - has been discovered in eastern Saskatchewan.
A number of scheduled flights at the Vancouver airport have been affected by the massive technology outage causing disruptions at companies and services around the world.
British Columbia's health-care system is facing disruptions due to the global technology outage affecting multiple industries on Friday.
The final trailer for the upcoming Marvel Studios blockbuster 'Deadpool & Wolverine' features a brief glimpse of Vancouver – hometown of star Ryan Reynolds.
A global technology outage impacting businesses around the world has led to flight cancellations in Toronto this morning, with Porter Airlines grounding all flights until 3 p.m.
A global technology outage impacting businesses around the world has led to major disruptions in the GTA and other parts of Ontario.
Porter Airlines has cancelled flights until 3 p.m. Friday due to a global IT outage, leaving some travellers in Toronto with their vacation plans up in the air.
A small number of flights leaving Calgary have been impacted by a technology outage that's causing widespread concern around the world.
Calgary's air quality is expected to be somewhat poor for the start of the weekend.
Two new wildlife crossings are in the planning stage for Highway 1A between Exshaw and Canmore.
A global technology outage grounded flights and impacted services at hospitals Friday morning in Ottawa.
A Canadian technology analyst says a failed update from a key cybersecurity provider shows the nearly 'universal' use of Windows products for key digital infrastructure and highlights how quickly security issues can start to cascade.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has named Steven MacKinnon as Canada's new minister of labour and seniors, filling a fresh vacancy on his front bench, left by outgoing minister Seamus O'Regan.
Some airlines at Montreal's Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport are being affected by a global technology outage.
A global technology outage caused by a faulty software update grounded flights, knocked banks and media outlets offline, and disrupted hospitals, small businesses and other services on Friday, highlighting the fragility of a digitized world dependent on just a handful of providers.
Canadian diver Caeli McKay, 25, returns to the Olympic stage in Paris fortified with a healthier body and a stronger mentality.
A heat warning remains in effect for Edmonton and almost all of Alberta. Temperatures will soar into the low to mid 30s across most of the province, again.
About 1,200 Epcor customers are still without power in west Edmonton Friday morning.
A new form of insulin that would mean fewer injections for patients is now available in Canada.
The Canadian Coast Guard is leading a search for a fishing vessel last heard from on Thursday night off the northeastern coast of Newfoundland.
A global technology disruption spread to parts of Atlantic Canada Friday morning, affecting the government of Newfoundland and Labrador's online services and health-care information systems.
Nova Scotia is suspending the licensed Cape Breton moose hunt for three years due to what the province is calling a “significant drop” in the population.
A global information technology outage is causing disruptions here in Winnipeg.
A craft beverage company feels Manitoba's Liquor Marts need to boost the number of local drinks on their shelves. However, Manitoba Liquor and Lotteries said craft labels get significant showing inside Liquor Marts with more than 500 local products on offer.
Around 100 acres of Manitoba Crown Land near the Saskatchewan border is being returned to the Manitoba Métis Federation (MMF).
A date has been set for an inquest into the death of Nicole Lafontaine, who fell five stories from a Regina YWCA window last year.
A Saskatchewan not-for-profit is reeling after vandals inflicted thousands of dollars of damages at the Good Spirit Scout Camp.
Sixteen new recruits have been sworn into the Regina Police Service (RPS).
The local impact of Friday's global technology outage.
Some services in Waterloo region are feeling the string of a global IT outage affecting Mircosoft programs.
The Region of Waterloo says it's making good progress on its plan to assemble shovel-ready land in Wilmot Township.
The lawyer representing a woman who struck and killed a child while driving says a number of her Charter rights were violated.
A global technology outage grounded flights, disrupted hospitals and backed up border crossings in Canada on Friday, as issues persisted hours after problems with Microsoft services were said to be getting fixed.
Saskatoon police have arrested and charged two men in relation to the homicide of 24-year-old Melissa Duquette.
Sealed bottles of tattoo and permanent makeup ink, including some marked as sterile, contained millions of potentially dangerous bacteria, according to new research by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
A global technology outage caused by a faulty software update grounded flights, knocked banks and media outlets offline, and disrupted hospitals, small businesses and other services on Friday, highlighting the fragility of a digitized world dependent on just a handful of providers.
A pedestrian was hit by a vehicle late Thursday evening in Sault Ste. Marie, sending them to hospital with life-threatening injuries.
A major internet outage affecting Microsoft is disrupting flights, banks, media outlets and companies across the world, with problems continuing hours after the technology company said it was gradually fixing an issue affecting access to Microsoft 365 apps and services.
Just before 7 p.m. on Thurday, emergency crews responded to the area of Glanworth Drive and Bradish Road where police said a teenaged boy was transported to hospital with life-threatening injuries. The driver of the other involved vehicle remained at the scene
Around 10 p.m. on Thursday, emergency crews responded to a two-vehicle crash in the area of County Road 15/Londsboro and County Road 8/Base Line, east of Goderich.
Police are investigating how a cyclist and a transport truck collided in downtown Owen Sound on Thursday afternoon.
Police are investigating a bizarre incident after a passenger allegedly assaulted a driver before taking off in the vehicle only to return a short time later.
A major internet outage affecting Microsoft is disrupting flights, banks, media outlets and companies across the world, with problems continuing hours after the technology company said it was gradually fixing an issue affecting access to Microsoft 365 apps and services.
The Ontario government is announcing the start of construction by Enbridge Gas on its $358 million Panhandle Regional Expansion Project in the southwest region.
Local hospitals and border crossings are experiencing delays due to a worldwide Microsoft outage
The City of Windsor is letting the public know about lane restrictions on Riverside Drive West.
British Columbia's health-care system is facing disruptions due to the global technology outage affecting multiple industries on Friday.
Two people died and a third was seriously injured in a fiery plane crash in Tofino, B.C., on Thursday, according to authorities.
A number of scheduled flights at the Vancouver airport have been affected by the massive technology outage causing disruptions at companies and services around the world.
A motorcyclist was severely injured in a crash with an SUV Sunday afternoon, according to the Kelowna RCMP.
A search effort is underway for a man who was swept away by the North Thompson River in Kamloops on Friday.
One person is dead and 17 others have been displaced after a stubborn fire burned overnight in a Kelowna apartment building.
One of two men accused of conspiring to kill police at the border blockade at Coutts, Alta., says he was worried about government overreach, food shortages and the COVID-19 vaccine.
In an effort to help raise funds for the YWCA Lethbridge and District, the women’s shelter is set to open an online auction to sell off its fitness equipment.
The Town of Redcliff’s boil water advisory ended Thursday.
A pedestrian was hit by a vehicle late Thursday evening in Sault Ste. Marie, sending them to hospital with life-threatening injuries.
Amid a widespread IT outage that has wreaked havoc around the world Friday morning, two northern Ontario hospitals say they have been affected.
Temagami has been left without a financial institution after Scotiabank pulled out of the northern Ontario community earlier this week.
The Canadian Coast Guard is leading a search for a fishing vessel last heard from on Thursday night off the northeastern coast of Newfoundland.
Firefighters began attacking a fire near Labrador City from the ground today, marking a new stage in the effort to get the roaring wildfire under control.
The latest protest against Ottawa's decision to reopen a commercial cod fishery drew a good line in downtown St. John's
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