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This year's Hungry Ghost Festival is coming to an end.

Yet, an unexpected guest has found its way to some prayer offerings before the festival came to a close.

A video posted on ROADS.sg Facebook page yesterday (Sept. 4) showed an iguana nibbling at a huat kueh, which was meant as a food offering to hungry ghosts.

Devotees had set up joss sticks, lighted-up red candles, joss papers, and food offerings along the side of the road.

Munching away

The iguana was seen munching on the huat kueh, which was on the ground. It also seemed fairly unperturbed by the joss sticks that were left in the huat kueh.

The caption of the video wrote: "Hungry ghost of a different kind."

Netizens' comments

Some Facebook users were in awe of the iguana.

While others joked about how the iguana wanted some good luck or "huat" when eating the food offering.

Illegal pet trade

While iguanas are not uncommon creatures to see in Singapore, some Facebook users noted that the reptile may have been someone's pet as they are not a native species in Singapore.

According to Animal Concerns Research and Education Society (Singapore) (Acres) in 2014, iguanas were introduced to Singapore as illegal pets.

Over the past decade, they have increasingly been found in the wild in Singapore and Thailand, most likely due to the international reptile trade.

These iguanas are arboreal (i.e. live in trees) and largely herbivorous.

The green iguana was one of the first lizard species kept as pets.

Top images via ROADS.sg. 

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