Thai park, overrun with monitor lizards

Sep 20, 2016

Thai park, overrun with monitor lizards

Christina Tkacik 0 Comment World monitor lizards, Thailand

Monitor lizards are known as “hia” in Thai — a noun which doubles as the language’s most powerful swear word. Which may mean there’s a lot of cursing in Bangkok lately, with the lizard’s population soaring to 400 in the city centre’s main park. Given the glut, Thai officials have begun bagging the meaty reptiles and relocating them to a nearby sanctuary.

: Park officials hold the head of a monitor lizard as they tie its mouth in Lumpini park in Bangkok on September 20, 2016. The hulking, prehistoric-looking monitor lizards that stalk the grounds of Bangkok’s Lumpini park have long triggered fascination — and fear — from visitors to the city centre’s main green space. But with their population soaring out of control to some 400, city officials are on a mission to bait and bag some of the meaty reptiles known as “hia” — a noun which doubles as the most powerful swear word in Thai. (AFP PHOTO / MUNIR UZ ZAMAN)

: Park officials hold the head of a monitor lizard as they tie shut its mouth in Lumpini park in Bangkok on September 20, 2016. The hulking, prehistoric-looking monitor lizards that stalk the grounds of Bangkok’s Lumpini park have long triggered fascination — and fear — from visitors to the city centre’s main green space. But with their population soaring out of control to some 400, city officials are on a mission to bait and bag some of the meaty reptiles known as “hia” — a noun which doubles as the most powerful swear word in Thai. (AFP PHOTO / MUNIR UZ ZAMAN)

: A park official holds the head of a monitor lizard following its capture in Lumpini park in Bangkok on September 20, 2016. The hulking, prehistoric-looking monitor lizards that stalk the grounds of Bangkok’s Lumpini park have long triggered fascination — and fear — from visitors to the city centre’s main green space. But with their population soaring out of control to some 400, city officials are on a mission to bait and bag some of the meaty reptiles known as “hia” — a noun which doubles as the most powerful swear word in Thai. (AFP PHOTO / MUNIR UZ ZAMAN)

: Park officials secure the head of a monitor lizard as they tie its mouth in Lumpini park in Bangkok on September 20, 2016. The hulking, prehistoric-looking monitor lizards that stalk the grounds of Bangkok’s Lumpini park have long triggered fascination — and fear — from visitors to the city centre’s main green space. But with their population soaring out of control to some 400, city officials are on a mission to bait and bag some of the meaty reptiles known as “hia” — a noun which doubles as the most powerful swear word in Thai. (AFP PHOTO / MUNIR UZ ZAMAN)

: Park officials try to capture a monitor lizard in Lumpini park in Bangkok on September 20, 2016. The hulking, prehistoric-looking monitor lizards that stalk the grounds of Bangkok’s Lumpini park have long triggered fascination — and fear — from visitors to the city centre’s main green space. But with their population soaring out of control to some 400, city officials are on a mission to bait and bag some of the meaty reptiles known as “hia” — a noun which doubles as the most powerful swear word in Thai. (AFP PHOTO / MUNIR UZ ZAMAN)

: Park officials hold a monitor lizard after catching it using a bait in Lumpini park in Bangkok on September 20, 2016. The hulking, prehistoric-looking monitor lizards that stalk the grounds of Bangkok’s Lumpini park have long triggered fascination — and fear — from visitors to the city centre’s main green space. But with their population soaring out of control to some 400, city officials are on a mission to bait and bag some of the meaty reptiles known as “hia” — a noun which doubles as the most powerful swear word in Thai. (AFP PHOTO / MUNIR UZ ZAMAN)

: A park official tries to lasso a monitor lizard in Lumpini park in Bangkok on September 20, 2016. The hulking, prehistoric-looking monitor lizards that stalk the grounds of Bangkok’s Lumpini park have long triggered fascination — and fear — from visitors to the city centre’s main green space. But with their population soaring out of control to some 400, city officials are on a mission to bait and bag some of the meaty reptiles known as “hia” — a noun which doubles as the most powerful swear word in Thai. (AFP PHOTO / MUNIR UZ ZAMAN)

: Park officials hold the head of a monitor lizard as they tie shut its mouth in Lumpini park in Bangkok on September 20, 2016. The hulking, prehistoric-looking monitor lizards that stalk the grounds of Bangkok’s Lumpini park have long triggered fascination — and fear — from visitors to the city centre’s main green space. But with their population soaring out of control to some 400, city officials are on a mission to bait and bag some of the meaty reptiles known as “hia” — a noun which doubles as the most powerful swear word in Thai. (AFP PHOTO / MUNIR UZ ZAMAN)

: A park official catches a monitor lizard with a lasso in Lumpini park in Bangkok on September 20, 2016. The hulking, prehistoric-looking monitor lizards that stalk the grounds of Bangkok’s Lumpini park have long triggered fascination — and fear — from visitors to the city centre’s main green space. But with their population soaring out of control to some 400, city officials are on a mission to bait and bag some of the meaty reptiles known as “hia” — a noun which doubles as the most powerful swear word in Thai. / AFP PHOTO / MUNIR UZ ZAMAN)

: Park officials hold a monitor lizard after caught with a lasso in Lumpini park in Bangkok on September 20, 2016. The hulking, prehistoric-looking monitor lizards that stalk the grounds of Bangkok’s Lumpini park have long triggered fascination — and fear — from visitors to the city centre’s main green space. But with their population soaring out of control to some 400, city officials are on a mission to bait and bag some of the meaty reptiles known as “hia” — a noun which doubles as the most powerful swear word in Thai. (AFP PHOTO / MUNIR UZ ZAMAN)

: Park officials hold the head and legs of a monitor lizard as they tie its mouth in Lumpini park in Bangkok on September 20, 2016. The hulking, prehistoric-looking monitor lizards that stalk the grounds of Bangkok’s Lumpini park have long triggered fascination — and fear — from visitors to the city centre’s main green space. But with their population soaring out of control to some 400, city officials are on a mission to bait and bag some of the meaty reptiles known as “hia” — a noun which doubles as the most powerful swear word in Thai. (AFP PHOTO / MUNIR UZ ZAMAN)

: A park official catches a monitor lizard with a lasso in Lumpini park in Bangkok on September 20, 2016. The hulking, prehistoric-looking monitor lizards that stalk the grounds of Bangkok’s Lumpini park have long triggered fascination — and fear — from visitors to the city centre’s main green space. But with their population soaring out of control to some 400, city officials are on a mission to bait and bag some of the meaty reptiles known as “hia” — a noun which doubles as the most powerful swear word in Thai. (AFP PHOTO / MUNIR UZ ZAMAN)

: A park official catches a monitor lizard with a lasso in Lumpini park in Bangkok on September 20, 2016. The hulking, prehistoric-looking monitor lizards that stalk the grounds of Bangkok’s Lumpini park have long triggered fascination — and fear — from visitors to the city centre’s main green space. But with their population soaring out of control to some 400, city officials are on a mission to bait and bag some of the meaty reptiles known as “hia” — a noun which doubles as the most powerful swear word in Thai. (AFP PHOTO / MUNIR UZ ZAMAN)

: An officer holds a bound monitor lizard caught at Lumpini Park in Bangkok, Thailand, Tuesday, Sept. 20, 2016. The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration’s plan for the lizards, who’s park population has grown to the hundreds, is to relocate them to a neighboring sanctuary and return the city’s central park to a safe destination frequented by tourists and locals. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)

: An officer binds a monitor lizard at Lumpini Park in Bangkok, Thailand, Tuesday, Sept. 20, 2016. The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration’s plan for the lizards, who’s park population has grown to the hundreds, is to relocate them to a neighboring sanctuary and return the city’s central park to a safe destination frequented by tourists and locals. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)

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