Iguana like animal in North Wales

I had discussed the 1987 letter with Jon Gaughan (A forum member) on a Sunday BHS task at the time and rather tongue in cheek mentioned that it could be a Tuatera from the description, I also knew that that the Rev.G.C.Bateman in his 1897 book The Vivarium had mentioned how to keep them and that they were sold in the pet trade for what was at the time quite a sum. Bateman had kept them himself and I am certain that I had seen somewhere that he had lived in N.Wales close to the mentioned village before moving to Jacobstowe, N.Devon. I have been unable to subsantiate this tonight and hope that I did not think that Bratton Clovelly was in N.Wales which is where he moved to after Jacobstowe. A while after John sent me a photocopy of a letter that he had received from Dr.Karl Shuker where amongst other subjects he mentioned the idea of his friend, so John, who knew him, had obviously mentioned my view to him.

Karl Shuker one of the U.K's original cryptozoologists has written about the possiblility in his books From Flying Toads to Snakes with Wings 1997 and The Beasts that hide from Man 2003.

I expect that others have taken this up more recently using this information but would be interested to hear if anyone has come to the same conclusion via some other information.

 

I hope this may have helped to shed light on the subject.

 

David

I've another strange sighting for you.

Back in the 70's (please don't ask the exact date) I was walking down Flax Lane in Glemsford Suffolk.

I saw a lizard like animal, about the length of an adult GCN. It looked 'warty' but moved fast like a lizard. It had distinctive toe pads and the dorsal surface was black with dark red blotches. It ran across the road in front of me and disappeared up the road side bank into a hedge.

It was one of a number of reasons I first became interested in native herpetofauna. I got home and tried to look up what I had seen. To this day I still don't know! I never saw it again but often wonder what it was and have yet to find anything that came close to it.