Monitor lizards attract tourists to Bangkok park

Wild monitor lizards have become an unlikely attraction at this park - with tourists visiting to take pictures of the reptiles.

Officials believe there are around 400 of the creatures lurking in the pond at the Lumpini Park in Bangkok, Thailand.

They have even been known to attack passing cyclists, with one woman being rushed to hospital after claiming a lizard ‘’jumped at her bike’’.

But despite their fearsome reputation, the creatures have become a much-loved draw to the open green space.

Every day they can be seen ambling along the grassy banks of the lake and sauntering along footpaths.

Footage taken on May 22 shows holidaymakers posing for selfies and taking pictures of the Asian water monitor lizards.

City officials had previously tried to remove the beasts but gave up following a backlash from the public and is now trying to manage the population.

Bangkok’s City Hall said that it counted 400 monitor lizards in the park in September last year while National Parks Department Director Kanchana Nittaya believes the number is closer to 160.

He said: ‘’The latest population figure for monitor lizards given to us by the [Bangkok Metropolitan Administration] was 400.

"They said their workers walked around counting them.

"We told them this method of counting could produce a highly inaccurate figure because the same lizard could be counted again by the time an official walked to another spot.’’