This is a story about a man and a lizard.

The man's name is Mike Kimmel, a.k.a. "Trapper Mike the Python Cowboy," owner of Martin County Trapping & Removals + Martin County Wildlife Rescue in Indiantown. He hunts large creepy-crawly things for a living, usually pythons.

Occasionally alligators.

And sometimes, lizards.

The lizard's name, apparently, is Bamboo. But that doesn't do it justice. Better to call it Godzilla, maybe Gargantua. Because this thing's big; not rampage-through-Tokyo big, but the reptile — an Asian water monitor, Kimmel says — is some 6 feet long.

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And it's the bane of a certain neighborhood in Davie/Broward County, where it's been terrorizing one family in particular. Zach and Maria Lieberman and their two small kids, ages 2 and 4, are afraid to go in their backyard or swim in their pool because the beast they've called "Godzilla's younger cousin" is lurking about.

Media reports indicate it's an escaped pet. It could weigh in the neighborhood of 100 pounds.

It's not poisonous.

But this thing looks like a junior Komodo dragon. Would you want it to bite you?

The lizard's also wily. It's been on the loose for several weeks now, and no one — not the Liebermans, not the Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission, not Trapper Mike nor the other "volunteers" who have come out to hunt the creature — have been able to grab it.

But Trapper Mike's not giving up. He took a break last week, recovering from an accidental machete wound to the leg. But he was ready to resume the hunt this weekend.

Bamboo may be turning into Kimmel's white whale. All he needs is a peg leg.

Though hopefully the machete wound isn't that serious.

Kimmel's no stranger to sensational media reports. Earlier this year, he made headlines after he saved an alligator that was being strangled by a 10-foot python.

I'm serious. There's video.

Bamboo is turning out to be a tougher nut ... er, reptile to crack.

According to media reports — and virtually every outlet on the planet seems to have reported on this story — Bamboo started terrorizing the Liebermans in late August. The creature sunbathes in their backyard. It wanders around the neighborhood, hangs out by a local lake — and the Lieberman's swimming pool — and hides in some nearby woods.

As the first stories hit social media, friends began tagging Trapper Mike and messaging him about the case. Maybe he could help.

"I'm really busy with pythons now," said Kimmel, a 29-year-old Martin County High School grad who has a contract with the state to hunt the big snakes in the Everglades.

Finally, he got a call from the Liebermans and agreed to volunteer his services. But the lizard's turning out to be more elusive than anyone imagined.

"The first day I went out it rained all day and it wasn't good conditions for me to find him," said Kimmel. Monitors tend to prefer sunnier weather. A week later Kimmel returned and the weather again went south, hindering the hunt.

The homes in the neighborhood back up to a preserve, Kimmel said, and "there are a lot of good hiding places" for the lizard to duck his would-be captors. That includes not just Kimmel, but a whole army of "helpers."

"Once the news covered it, everyone wanted to come out and see this thing," Kimmel said. "There were people with drones, people on bicycles riding up to the preserve and saying 'We're helping to look for the lizard, can you give me advice?' "

Kimmel's advice: Please leave, you're making it harder.

All the activity has forced the lizard into hiding.

"It's a lot more skittish now and it's not being seen as often," Kimmel said.

Meanwhile, the Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission set out traps with dead rodents, hoping Bamboo might be hungry. No dice. Kimmel worked with another trapper who baited a huge trap designed to catch coyotes. Bamboo has steered clear.

So now what?

Kimmel — who at age 10 started breeding and selling chameleons, and who by age 15 was helping the state remove nuisance alligators on a volunteer basis — says he's hoping the crowds of rubber-neckers go away.

If they do, and the weather cooperates, he's sure the hunt will be over.

"I have new information on where he is and it's a much smaller area then before," Kimmel said. "Hopefully everyone hasn't scared him back into hiding again.

"All I need is a good sunny day and I can catch him."

Gil Smart is a TCPalm columnist and a member of the Editorial Board. His columns reflect his opinion. Readers may reach him at gil.smart@tcpalm.com, by phone at 772-223-4741 or via Twitter at @TCPalmGilSmart.