A Massachusetts animal control officer responding to a report of a lizard in a parking lot ended up wrangling a large, aggressive mangrove monitor.

Sept. 4 (UPI) -- A Massachusetts animal control officer responding to a report of an exotic lizard in a parking lot ended up wrangling a large, aggressive mangrove monitor.

Burlington Police Animal Control said on social media that "what started as a report of a lizard in a Burlington parking lot turned into the safe capture of a mangrove monitor."

Jamie Jeffrey, Burlington's animal control officer, arrived on the scene to find the mangrove monitor, a species native to Australia, New Guinea and Indonesia, in the wheel well of a vehicle.

"It didn't want to be captured, let's put it that way," Jeffrey told the Boston Globe. "For people who have a hobby with reptiles, this is a kind of reptile you have to be very knowledgeable to care for ... [it's] on the aggressive side."

Jeffrey called Cambridge Animal Control for "moral support" and, with their help, was able to capture the lizard and take it to Rainforest Reptile Shows for care.

The monitor was found to be in good health, but has a small head wound that Jeffrey said would be consistent with an escape from a cage.

Jeffrey said the species is not legal to keep as pets in Massachusetts without a permit. Officials are now trying to find the lizard's owner to determine whether the pet was being kept legally.

"This definitely was somebody's pet that they cared about," she said. "We're hoping someone does come forward."