Lizard rescued from Arizona freeway is back home

If you were driving along Loop 101 in north Phoenix on Wednesday morning, you may have witnessed an unusual scene.
A reptile was spotted on the shoulder of the freeway near 7th Street on July 10.
The Arizona Department of Transportation says its crews, along with members of the Phoenix Herpetological Sanctuary, rescued the reptile after it crawled into a storm drain.
Trying to trap him was no walk in the park.
How do you wrangle a four-foot long monitor lizard? Very carefully, of course.
Try grabbing the tail, but don’t bite off more than you can chew.
"At that point, it looked like it was chaotic. And it was, but I had it. I had to get it down on the ground. Alex then went ahead and put some pressure on the back of the neck," explained Casey Brose with the Phoenix Herpetological Sanctuary.
Alex Roszkowski and Brose got the call around 6 a.m.
DPS needs help trapping a big venomous reptile down a storm drain during rush hour traffic. Sure, no problem.
"So, for PHS, out of the norm. For us, this is our first rodeo on the highway," Brose said.
Roszkowski says, "Rescuing reptiles every day, we do that, but on the highway, that’s a first."
The lizard apparently pushed its way through a chicken-wire gate while his owners were away. Then he went from 16th Street and Union Hills Drive.
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[@ElenaPadilla-ij2xt]

Love a happy ending,and it's spreading,my sister from SO.
CAL. Just called me and told me about this incredible ending of a story 👍

[@catwoman2596]

U don't grab the tip of their tail like that.

[@NothingButTrains]

It should be illegal to own nonnative species like that in Arizona.