Florida Lizard Hops On Vacationer's Suitcase, Travels 4,500 Miles

An English woman, who returned home from vacation, was taken by surprise when she discovered a sneaky stowaway in her luggage — a lizard. The reptile has been rescued after it traveled 4,500 miles from Florida to the island nation in the woman's suitcase.

Rachel Bond found the green anole lizard while she was unpacking her bags at her home in Whitley Bay. She had just returned from a vacation in Orlando, Florida. Bond's mother, Margaret Crossland, first spotted the lizard after it climbed onto a door.

"I had started to unpack my things then I came downstairs and my mum shouted to me 'There is a lizard on my bedroom door,'" Bond said, UPI reported. "I wasn't sure if it was her age that had caught up with her but when I went upstairs she was adamant that she had seen the reptile go into her room."

The lizard was rescued by a non-profit charity, Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA).

Green anole lizards are harmless-tree dwellers, native to the U.S. and the Caribbean. They can change their skin color to reddish-brown and are kept as exotic pets in the U.K., according to ITV.

"We had a good look around and then we found it under the pillow on her bed," Bond said, BBC reported. "I think she was very relieved she didn't wake up in the night with it on her face - that would have been quite a shocker."

Bond added that she felt bad for the lizard. "It is quite remarkable that the lizard managed to travel all that way unharmed - but I do feel sorry for him, after enjoying such nice warm weather he ended up in Whitley Bay in winter," she said.

RSPCA Inspector Lucy Green said it was "amazing" that the lizard survived such a long journey. "He is certainly a very lucky lizard. He is feeding well and definitely more lively now as he is no longer cold," Green said.

It is unlikely that the RSPCA would return the lizard to its native country. Green said it will be sent to specialist keepers, zoos or wildlife parks.