WEBSTER, Mass. — A community in Massachusetts is on the lookout for Goose.
But Goose is not a bird; it’s a water monitor lizard with an avian name.
Goose, a 5-foot-long lizard, escaped his home in Webster, Massachusetts, on Friday, WFXT reported. As of July 22 he had not yet been found.
A neighbor told WFXT that she saw Goose break out of a second-floor window, climb to the roof and then jump to the ground.
Police had been searching for Goose, but had since called it off.
According to Webster Animal Control, they used a police drone to look for Goose, but because of how long it had been on the loose, the search ended.
Update: When we were informed of the lizard being loose, we did do a small search in the area of the residence and had...
Posted by Webster Animal Control on Friday, July 18, 2025
“I think Goose, if he’s not found, is going to become some urban legend here for time to come,” police chief Michael Shaw told WFXT. “We’re hopeful he pops his little head out somewhere.”
Officials said that water monitor lizards can be dangerous if cornered. They are venomous, but their venom is not deadly.
LegaSea Aquarium said that infection from a bacteria that the lizard may carry is more of a concern.
More often, instead of biting, a water monitor uses its tail like a whip to scare a predator away, the aquarium said.
The tail, according to the Columbus Zoo, is about 1 1/2 times the length of the lizard’s body, with the reptile weighing anywhere between 40 and 90 pounds.
One man who is a lizard-hunting expert has offered to help in the search, but police are telling people not to go out looking for Goose.
Jean-Paul LaPierre doesn’t agree with the police stopping the search and is confident he can find the lizard.
He says he can find Goose quickly and said he’ll be looking for the lost lizard on Friday.
“I’ll find that in an hour! That’s all I need — one hour!" he told WFXT.
He is a self-proclaimed lizard expert who said he has found some of the largest reptiles in the state.
“It’s going to be looking for water,” LaPierre told WFXT. “If that animal’s hungry and you step the wrong direction, you will get bit by it. That’s a good size animal!”
The Massachusetts Environmental Police said it is an active investigation.
It is not known if Goose’s owners will face charges, but Webster police said it is illegal to own a water monitor in the state without a permit.
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