When this photo of a giant lizard monster climbing an Australian's wall started popping up in our news feeds, our immediate reaction was: This thing can't be real.
We reached out to a few experts to appease our skeptical sensors and it turns out, to our horror, that yes — this massive lizard could indeed be the real deal.
It all started when 80-year-old Australian resident Eric Holland reportedly snapped this photo of a terrifying reptile clinging to the side of his house. It appears to be a type of goanna monitor lizard called a Lace Monitor.
Holland estimates that the goanna stretched about 5 feet across.
"That is a big ass lizard," Kellar Autumn, a biologist who studies climbing mechanics at Lewish and Clark College in Oregon, told Tech Insider.
Autumn builds biologically-inspired robots that can free-climb buildings, and he says he doesn't have any reservations about the plausibility of the photo. "I’m confident that it is using claws to climb."
And Chris Raxworthy, curator of the American Museum of Natural History's Department of Herpetology, also doesn't think that the photo is a hoax. He did drop one slight caveat though:
"The goanna photo could be real, in that they are great climbers," Raxworthy told Tech Insider. "However, the odd thing about this photo is that the left hind leg toes are gripping glass. This will provide no grip at all, but perhaps the leg was moving when the shot was made."
All signs point to yes, this is real, and apparently it's not so crazy that this thing would land in the backyard of an unsuspecting Aussie.
Goanna monitor lizards are common across Australia, but the majority of them don't usually grow as large as their family member, the Lace Monitor, which can stretch to more than six-and-a-half feet long. Lace monitors are especially known for their climbing skills, using their long, strong claws to scurry up large trees, where they spend most of their time.
Occasionally, they'll saunter down to the ground to forage insects, small animals, birds, bird eggs, other reptiles, and even road kill. After feeding, they can go for weeks without another meal.
So count your lucky stars that you don't live in Australia. And if you do, godspeed.
If you're feeling especially attached to this guy, you can even name him here.
