The Phuket Lifeguard Service revealed the news in a post on its Facebook page, with photos of the reptile and the message, “Nai Harn had a guest today. Lifeguards had to remove it from the beach.”
One lifeguard told The Phuket News that the lizard was about a meter long and weighed over seven kilograms.
“We think the lizard went onto the beach in search of food, and seemed unafraid of the tourists,” the lifeguard said.
“But we were afraid that some tourists might scare it by trying to approach it to take photos. The lizard might have reacted aggressively to this, so we had to remove it from the beach and release it into the nearby forest,” he said.