Toy iguana causes police response at the side of B.C. highway

A toy lizard mistaken for a living iguana is seen in this image handed out by the Mission RCMP.

Mounties in B.C.’s Lower Mainland say they received an interesting and unexpected call for service earlier this month, one they hadn’t been trained for.

A passerby called the Mission RCMP on Jan. 11 to report a four-foot-long iguana on the shoulder of Lougheed Highway near Shook Street, according to the detachment.

“Although some people may have immediately thought that such a report could not be true, any experienced officer will tell you that there are many times in this job that we encounter all sorts of peculiar situations, so this report could not be completely dismissed,” a Sunday social media post from the Mission RCMP reads.

“Now, RCMP officers have extensive training to deal with a variety of situations, but iguana-wrangling is not one of them.”

The detachment says officers armed themselves with three tools to capture the lizard: a dog-catching pole, a large crate and “extraordinary bravery.” The officers forewent brushing up on iguana behaviour, police said, out of fears the lizard would be hit by a car or hurt someone.

But as they approached the iguana, the officers realized the reported creature was not a genuine specimen, but rather a stuffed toy.

The detachment shared a photo of the stuffed animal over the weekend, with the disclaimer that passersby would have seen it while moving at highway speeds.

“The stuffed animal appeared lifelike from a distance, but up close, its eyes just seemed to say ‘Iguana be your friend!’” Mounties quipped.

Police took the iguana to their exhibit holding facility and asked for the owner to call the Mission RCMP to retrieve their stuffed lizard.