Was this really necessary? Perhaps not. But a discovery underneath a garbage can had one woman so confused she called the emergency line for help. Was it some sort of explosive device? Not quite. But it definitely was an unexpected find, especially around the New York area. So, what was it?

NBC NY says that a New Hyde Park woman called 911 after finding a bearded dragon under the trash Wednesday evening. NBC says the lizard appeared to be catatonic, which basically means it was in an incapacitated state of hibernation. Reptiles are cold blooded, and need the warmth to regulate their body temperatures. Once it drops below around 60 degrees, their metabolisms start to slow way down. It's kind of like a long rest during the colder months.

The National Weather Service says the temps were in the 40s in Nassau County Wednesday, so this guy (or gal) was settling down for a long nap until it got warmer. Imagine the bearded dragon being a state of suspended animation.

Police said that once they arrived to save this frantic woman from the monstrous sleeping animal, they placed it in a container and brought into the warmth of one of their vehicles. Police said it began to move around again once it was warm. Newsday says that the officers then contacted a wildlife rehabilitator to look after the animal. Officials say this is another case of an animal like this, that was someone's pet, but then got out and escaped. Least it wasn't an alligator or large snake.

Bearded Dragons are found in Australia, and can live up to 20 years. There is no word from officials who the owner was.

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