A monitor lizard was seen eating the remains of a newborn child in Thailand, sending shockwaves across the Samut Prakan province.
People in Bang Phli district, about 40km from Bangkok, reported the incident to the local police after discovering the lizard devouring the remains of the baby on Tuesday afternoon.
Rescue workers from the charity Ruamkatanyu Foundation who were dispatched to the spot found the baby’s upper body but not the lower half, Bangkok Post reported.
The remains were found in the mouth of a 6.5ft-long lizard near a water body next to a row of rented houses occupied largely by migrant workers.
The rescuer workers could only retrieve the baby’s head as no other parts or clothing were found, according to local broadcaster PPTV36.
The remains were sent to the Chakri Naruebodindra Medical Institute for further investigation to determine whether the baby had been born alive or stillborn.
Rescue workers speculated that the baby was abandoned shortly after birth and found by the monitor lizard, according to the Bangkok Post.
Monitor lizards typically live in canals, swamps, sewers, and ponds in Thailand’s urban areas and mostly feed on fish, snakes, frogs, and scraps of food left by humans.
The reptiles are aggressive when threatened. They have a mildly venomous bite which sometimes carries harmful bacteria.
Kittisak Phongphipat, one of the witnesses, told the Thai Examiner that he initially mistook the baby for a fish. “I thought it was a fish washed up from the rain,” he said. “Then I looked closer. It was a baby. I felt sick to my stomach because the baby had been torn to pieces by the animal.”
Police said they were trying to trace the mother of the child who could face legal action if it was confirmed the newborn was alive when it was abandoned.
