Over the weekend, a video went viral showing a shopping mall security guard in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, getting rid of a wild monitor lizard that apparently made its way into the building.
In the viral social media post, the man in the clip was seen holding the reptile by its tail, and swinging it around like a helicopter over his head, before tossing it out onto the street outside the mall.
.@KKCity guard seen in this clip tossing away in "helicopter swing" monitor lizard which crawled into public space.
Accompanying music is hilarious, but questions: Was helicopter swing necessary? Drive-by suitable place to throw it to? Car ran over it? Was this animal cruelty? pic.twitter.com/g4eqcINst1
— Daily Express Sabah (@DailyExpress_MY) December 11, 2021
” A Kota Kinabalu guard is seen in this clip tossing away in a ‘helicopter swing’ style (a) monitor lizard which crawled into (a) public space. Accompanying music is hilarious, but questions: Was the helicopter swing necessary? Was the drive-by a suitable place to throw it to? What if a car ran over it? Was this animal cruelty?” the admin of the Twitter page Daily Express Sabah asked.
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A lot of netizens in the comments section appeared to defend the security guard’s actions. According to them, the helicopter swing and tossing done by the man was necessary to prevent himself from getting bitten by the animal.
“Yes, the helicopter swing is necessary for his own safety,” Twitter user @afqnrmn shared. “The centrifugal force from the swing prevents the lizard from turning its back to bite. The important thing is both got off unharmed in this incident. That is the best he can do with inadequate equipment and people.”
Another internet user was also seen clapping back at the netizen who brought up the allegation. They left a seemingly sarcastic reply which reads, “Then what do you expect the guard to do? Carry it around like a baby? Or maybe put the reptile to sleep?”
One Twitter netizen wrote, “(Instead of tossing) the guard should hug the lizard and give it a goodbye kiss instead!” For those interested, feel free to read some of the responses left by them below:
For those who don’t know, the monitor lizard is considered a “naturally shy” animal and will usually avoid encounters with humans. However, when it feels provoked or cornered, the reptile will attack humans to protect itself.
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