Nonantola (Modena), July 26, 2026 – For days its image circulated on social media: everyone wondered what species it belonged to, but above all, who had abandoned it in the Nonantola countryside, without hiding a certain apprehension.
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Thanks to the intervention of the volunteers from the Wildlife Recovery Center “Il Pettirosso” and the Cites carabinieri, the animal is now safe, but the alleged owner responsible for its abandonment now faces a serious complaint.
Exotic reptile mistaken for an iguana
It’s a Red Argentine Tegu, that unusual exotic reptile that was roaming freely along via Rebecchi, mistaken at times for a monitor lizard or an iguana.
It was the residents themselves who had alerted the police, having noticed the ‘big lizard’ walking alone along the road for days.
The alarm was resolved thanks to the timely intervention of the volunteers from Il Pettirosso, who managed to recover and rescue the animal at the end of a not-so-simple operation, hindered by the extreme speed of the specimen in hiding and disappearing without a trace. The Carabinieri of the Cites Unit of Modena revealed the animal’s true identity, accurately identifying it as a specimen of Red Argentine Tegu (Salvator rufescens).
The military, hypothesizing the crime of abandonment in nature, immediately seized the reptile, which is currently in good condition.
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Investigations to find out who abandoned it
The animal has been temporarily entrusted to the care of Il Pettirosso, awaiting the ongoing investigations to lead to the identification of the person responsible for the abandonment, as well as the identification of a facility authorized to keep exotic animals that can accommodate it.
The keeping of this particular species is strictly regulated to ensure sustainable commercial exploitation compatible with its ecological role.
The Argentine Tegu falls under the legislation that constitutes the framework for the application of the Washington Convention (Cites) throughout the European Union.
Consequently, the law establishes that the reptile requires documentation proving its legal origin, obtainable even simply by purchasing it from specialized stores in the sector, and mandates that it be cared for and managed in compliance with its biological specificities.
The Cites military personnel remind in this regard that keeping exotic animals entails the necessary knowledge of the required documentation, as well as a deep sense of responsibility in respecting each individual specimen of fauna or flora.
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