Saraburi rescue services were called to the Siam Chai furniture shop in Sutbanthat Road in Muang district after a large water monitor came in the store.

 

Parichart or Fon, 24, said it caused quite a kerfuffle with staffers fleeing in panic.

 

As the rescue arrived the creature - a protected species in Thailand known politely as tua ngern tua thong and more colloqually as "tua hia" - was going upstairs.

 

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It didn't go quietly either. It was fighting with swishes of its tail as the rescue teams tried to lasso it.

 

Eventually its tail was grabbed and it was blindfolded with a bag before the mouth was taped up.

 

The creature was released into a nearby klong. 

 

The story on Siam Rath's site featured two surprising things - the frequent mention of the word "hia", usually avoided in press reports and no mention of the lottery, notes ASEAN NOW.

 

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Picture: Siam Rath

 

Picture: Siam Rath

 

Picture: Siam Rath

These things are quite imposing when you stumble onto one....

 

I'm not a big fan of wild, roving reptiles....

The poor thing probably just wanted to buy a sofa!

 

I wish that I could read these things, I cannot see any lottery numbers on this beast.

 

What a wonderful beast , glad they are protected , we need more giant lizards.

Would have caused a lot of envy on the IT forum.

"Got myself an 84" monitor down the local furniture shop".

5 hours ago, webfact said:

As the rescue arrived the creature - a protected species in Thailand known politely as tua ngern tua thong and more colloqually as "tua hia" - was going upstairs.

Maybe it was looking for the Penthouse suite?

If only there was handy local water drainage to chuck it in

I was told Thais believe that hia visiting your home is incredibly lucky... before criticising Thai superstition, consider some westerners consider it incredibly lucky if a bird poops on you...

Soi dogs, beware, as these critters like young pups. nice looking lizard.

It was a young alligator 

15 minutes ago, Johnnyngai said:

It was a young alligator 

The creature in the photos was an Asian water monitor. As you know,  alligators are not native to Thailand.

22 hours ago, ratcatcher said:

The creature in the photos was an Asian water monitor. As you know,  alligators are not native to Thailand.

I was just kidding 

23 hours ago, Johnnyngai said:

I was just kidding 

Thanks for the clarification.