“He was just getting more bold,” the school’s assistant principal told Yahoo News.<\/p>\n
“He was out and around near the staff table, and he hissed at the school’s wellbeing dog.”<\/p>\n
The teachers were powerless to stop its antics, so in the morning, during the school holidays when no students were around, they called in an expert for help.<\/p>\n
“We quite liked ‘Stumpy’, and enjoyed having him at our site, but it became apparent it would become a potential problem,” the assistant principal added.<\/p>\n
“Although we were sad he had to leave, it was the safest thing to do.”<\/p>\n
Chris Williams from Sydney\u2019s Urban Reptile Removal<\/a> arrived at the school on Sydney’s Northern Beaches<\/a> with a long ladder, a pole and a rope.<\/p>\n While he\u2019s used to handling snakes, it\u2019s goannas \u2014 also known as lace monitors<\/a> \u2014 that are a more \u201cserious challenge\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cThey\u2019re incredibly strong, and their claws are formidable. They enable them to climb a tree in seconds, and if they clamp onto you, they do serious damage,\u201d Williams told Yahoo News.<\/p>\n \u201cThe tail is also powerful, and they\u2019ll often use it to whip dogs or people if they get too close.\u201d<\/p>\n Reptile’s mouth more dangerous than its claws and tail<\/p>\n But it’s their teeth that are the \u201creal issue\u201d.<\/p>\n Not only is the reptile’s mouth filled with bacteria from eating what Williams describes as \u201cmanky, decomposing animals\u201d, but they also have a dangerous venom.<\/p>\n Similar to Indonesia\u2019s famous Komodo dragons<\/a>, anything bitten by the reptiles will likely become sick from toxins in the saliva, weakening the victim until it becomes easy prey.<\/p>\n \u201cA bite from one of those guys is the gift that keeps on giving,\u201d Williams said.<\/p>\n \u201cIf you don’t have serious tendon damage, then you can have a secondary infection, and all sorts of nasty things from a bite.<\/p>\n \u201cThey\u2019re by far the most dangerous animal we deal with \u2014 give me a brown snake<\/a> over one of them any day.\u201d<\/p>\n Because the lizard was missing a tail, Williams had to improvise a different method of capture. Source: Urban Reptile Removal<\/p>\n Goanna’s historical injury creates major challenge for expert<\/p>\n When Williams arrived at the school, the goanna was sitting on top of the nesting box.<\/p>\n Ordinarily, his approach would be to grab the whip-like tail, but in the case of the schoolyard lizard, that wasn\u2019t possible because it had somehow been cut off years ago.<\/p>\n The injury would have likely been \u201chorrendous\u201d at the time, and easily been enough to kill a mammal or a bird.<\/p>\n It\u2019s even rare for a hardy goanna to survive losing a tail, because their reproductive organs are in that region.<\/p>\n It was too dangerous to climb up the ladder and grapple with the lizard, so instead, Williams threw a noose around his body and slowly brought him down to the ground.<\/p>\n After being captured, the goanna was released in nearby bushland. Source: Urban Reptile Removal<\/p>\n From his size, it\u2019s estimated the goanna was between 20 and 50 years old, and likely knew the area well.<\/p>\n He was bundled up in a bag and taken to nearby bushland and released.<\/p>\n \u201cI didn\u2019t cross any main roads, because I was very conscious of making sure we didn\u2019t put him anywhere that\u2019s going to lead him to being hit by a car,\u201d Williams said.<\/p>\n \u201cBecause he\u2019s so distinctive, if he was to make his way back it\u2019ll be pretty apparent it\u2019s him, and I\u2019ll just catch him for free next time.\u201d<\/p>\n Love Australia’s weird and wonderful environment? \ud83d\udc0a\ud83e\udd98\ud83d\ude33 Get our new newsletter<\/a> showcasing the week\u2019s best stories.<\/p>\n![\"Left:](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/cb4623e0-f719-11f0-bad5-f762931f8bd8.jpeg\"\/)
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