Durban - A Nile monitor lizard (Varanus niloticus) is recovering at uShaka Sea World after it was bitten by a dog on Wednesday afternoon.

Nick Evans, a herpetologist at the KwaZulu-Natal Amphibian and Reptile Conservation, was asked to collect the lizard from a home in Westville.

Evans said it was one of the biggest he had ever seen.

“Unfortunately, it was attacked by dogs, and maggots quickly got in the wound,” Evans said on his Facebook page.

He was doubtful the lizard would survive the night.