'She's my baby' - owner of lizard lost in Cumbria continues search for missing reptile

  • Watch as a lizard is on the loose in Cumbria.

The search is continuing for a missing tegu lizard in Cumbria which is typically native to South America, with the owner saying "she's my baby".

Echo, the four foot lizard, has been missing since the weekend and is on the loose in West Cumbria.

Typically not aggressive creatures, Echo is expected to be bathing in the sunshine somewhere.

Echo has been missing since the weekend. Credit: Pet Encounter Cumbria

Siobhan Harkness, Echo's owner, said: "I am very stressed at the moment and a bit overwhelmed. I would describe Echo as very lazy, she doesn't like to move far.

"She basically sleeps and eats, that's basically her life. Yeah, so this is very unusual. She can kind of run like a T-Rex. In extreme cases, when they do get scared, she can run quite fast."

A Cumbrian ecologist believes that there is no threat to the general public.

David Pollard said: "They're ingenious little creatures. They're not really aggressive unless you try and restrain them.

"And if you try and restrain them they will tail whip you and try to bite. And of course, they've got quite strong jaws because in the wild they deal with carrying eggs, ground nesting birds nests, stuff like that.

"But it won't have gone far, because it knows where the food is. So it'll be fairly local."

West Cumbria search and rescue were called in to assist finding Echo. Lea Somerfield is more used to finding humans rather than animals.

The lizard is said to only be aggressive if you try and restrain it. Credit: Pet Encounter Cumbria

He said: "Obviously, we are usually tasked by Cumbria Police to search for missing people, then the RSPCA will call us out for animals but this is a first for us because we know them and we've worked with them before, it's just a common courtesy."

And for owner Siobhan, she just wants to find Echo. She said: "I just want her home. I know a lot of people say she's just a reptile, but she isn't. She's my baby and I just want her home."

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