SANTA CLARA COUNTY, Calif. - Authorities on Friday were searching for a large Argentine black and white tegu that was spotted by hikers in Joseph D. Grant County Park .

The Santa Clara County Parks and Recreation Department issued an alert Friday afternoon announcing that park personnel were on the lookout for the large reptile, which was spotted in the park in the past few days by a group of hikers.

A what?:

Santa Clara County Parks said the Argentine black and white tegu – as the name might suggest – is not native to California.

According to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission , the lizards are endemic to Brazil, Paraguay, eastern Uruguay and northern Argentina.

Tegus tend to eat bird eggs, small birds, small lizards and various "small mammals and inverteb

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