Monitor lizards get booted from Bangkok

The hulking, prehistoric-looking monitor lizards that stalk the grounds of Bangkok's Lumpini Park have long triggered fascination - and fear - from visitors to the city center's main green space.

But with their population soaring out of control to some 400, city officials are on a mission to bait and bag some of the meaty reptiles known as hia - a noun which doubles as the most powerful swear word in Thai.

"In the past hia used to steal people's food, so that's why people cursed them," explained 49-year-old Tawee Somnamee, who works in the 57-hectare park, a lush oasis for joggers and cyclists in the heart of Bangkok's concrete jungle.