A brave volunteer abseiled into a 30ft deep well to rescue a monitor lizard that was starving to death.
The reptile was trying to frantically escape after falling into the filthy water in Ang Thong, central Thailand.
Concerned residents contacted the rescue team on Tuesday morning (May 12) after they saw the monitor lizard in the well. Several days had already passed since the creature plunged into the abyss but the woman living in the house opposite thought the lizard would get out on its own.
Rescue workers arrived at the well and one of the team descended into the darkness to retrieve the 3ft long fatigued reptile.
Chief rescuer Thanin Tongam said the task looked simple but it was actually risky because of the cramped conditions and unpredictability of the lizard - as well as any other creatures that could have been lurking down there.
Thanin said: "Since the monitor lizard was left starving in the water for about a week, it had no strength to resist.
"However, going down a deep well is risky because we do not know if there is anything dangerous down there but we had to do it to save the lizard's life."
After it was brought back up, the frightened monitor lizard rushed back to the wild.
