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For my video; youtu.be/5J26ztEZtBA?si=F-xQaB1XJo4zMHX5,
The Asian water monitor (Varanus salvator) is a large varanid lizard native to South and Southeast Asia. It is widely considered to be the second-largest lizard species, after the Komodo dragon. It is distributed from eastern and northeastern India and Bangladesh, the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Sri Lanka, through southern China and Hainan Island in the east to mainland Southeast Asia and the islands of Sumatra, Borneo, Java, Lombok, the Riau Archipelago, Sulawesi. It is one of the most widespread monitor lizards.
Snapshot from my video.
The Asian water monitor has a natural affinity towards water, inhabiting the surroundings of lakes, rivers, ponds, swamps and various riparian habitats, including sewers, city parks, and urban waterways. It is an excellent swimmer and hunts fish, frogs, invertebrates, water birds, and other types of aquatic and amphibious prey. Due to its apparently large, stable population, it is currently listed as Least Concern on to the IUCN Red List.
The Singapore Botanic Gardens is a 166-year-old tropical garden located at the fringe of the Orchard Road shopping district in Singapore. It is one of three gardens, and the only tropical garden, to be honoured as a UNESCO World Heritage Site
El Monitor Huáscar, Museo Flotante en la Base Naval de Talcahuano, engalanado para el 21 de Mayo de 2018, cuando aún no se disipa el humo de las salvas de honor
Everyday, we have some Water monitor (Varanus salvator) coming to the staff canteen to get some scraps of food dropped (not always by accident) by the staff eating there. As they are used to our presence, they are easy enough to approach and observe. It took the opportunity today to capture a nice portrait of one of them, more than a meter long, that came very close. Of course, it wouldn't be the same without its tongue out.
Mertens water monitor is a medium- to largesized (total length up to 1 m) semi-aquatic monitor, dark brown to black on the back with numerous small dark-edged cream or yellow spots. #D500
It's time for his second vaccination shot and we had to make sure he's ready for it. He's well ahead of the general 100-grams-per-week rule so he'll be paying his second visit to the vets tonight. The progress in his interaction with Pip, Pebbel and Poeka is slow but noticeable. He wants to play with them so badly that he often charges into them and is then told off in a very clear way.
Found this magnificent lizard on my way down from climbing the Sigiriya rock fortress in Sri Lanka. It must have been at least 3m long if not more.
Monitor lizards look very much like the dragons that we see in fairy tale books. Of the 31 species in the world, four are from India: the Bengal monitor, the two-banded monitor, the desert monitor, and the yellow monitor lizard. All of the four are severely endangered species and are protected under Schedule I of the Wildlife Protection Act. Which means anyone caught trapping or killing them can be punished with a fine of Rs. 25,000 and 5 years in jail. But it would seem that no one cares.
These useful jungle creatures that should live to 15 years very rarely even attain sexual maturity at the age of 3. This is because their meat and eggs are eaten and their body parts used for all sorts of fake remedies. The animals are hunted down, their spines or legs broken and they are then thrown into sacks and taken to villages and cities where they are kept alive in dreadful pain until the trader finds a gullible customer who will buy their sweat, organs, fat, or bones for aphrodisiacs, medicines, or amulets. So many ignorant people are sold parts of this creature in the false belief that it will cure some disease or the other. Many of you might have seen this helpless creature being roasted by madaris in the markets of your town.
The tongue of the live monitor is cut to be swallowed in the ridiculous hope that it will cure tuberculosis. The blood is drunk from its slit belly for asthma, its fat, to be rubbed on eyelids, is sold as a cure for failing sight or else rubbed onto wounds in the belief that it will heal them. Its head, cut off and burnt, is claimed to remedy every disease. It penis is used by Tantriks for black magic. Its flesh it touted as an aphrodisiac. Nor do we spare its young. The babies are steeped in alcohol and drunk to increase male potency. Even the eggs are considered a delicacy and cooked.
Nor is this the end of the list of horrors we heap on this reclusive creature. What do you think your lizard skin bags, wallets, and shoes are made of? The skins of these poor animals. In some parts of India, drums and the chambers of stringed instruments are made with their skins. During the Nagpanchami festival they are dug out of their resting places, nailed to poles, and carried in processions until they die.
There is no end to the torture we put these small vulnerable creatures to, because none of you ever protests.
Monitors are anything but primitive dragon like creatures. They are an extraordinary, versatile, hardy family of lizards that are good runners, diggers, climbers, and swimmers and are both tree and cave dwellers. They are a vital part of the ecosystem that keeps you alive and to kill them or to ignore those who carry on this trade is to endanger your own lives. They could live in peace if we let them. But it seems as if we Indians have decided to destroy another species for our false beliefs, superstitions, and passing fancies. Don’t buy lizard skin in any form, and catch lizard sellers when they enter your town and take them to the police. There are too few of these creatures left to take any more chances with their lives.
Monitor lizards have a massive body and powerful legs. Most species have strong claws on their feet, and all but the largest monitors can climb well. The tail is long and powerful, usually about twice as long as the body, and can be flailed as a potent weapon. Monitors grow throughout their life, so the oldest individuals in a population are also the largest ones.
Monitors have a long, specialized tongue with a bifurcated tip that is highly sensitive to smell and taste. The tongue is extended to pick up scent chemicals, and is then retracted into the mouth where the scents are analyzed using an organ on the roof of the mouth.
Monitor lizards grow replacement teeth in the gaps between their mature teeth. They have at least 29 vertebrae above their hips. Nine of these are neck vertebrae, supporting the unusually long neck of these lizards. Their powerful jaws are hinged in the middle, allowing them to swallow large prey. The head of monitors is tapered, and there are distinct ear holes.
Monitors are active predators, hunting during the day. They stalk a wide range of animals and eat carrion and eggs as well. Monitors ingest their prey whole if it is small enough, but they can also dismember large prey items so they can be swallowed.
Monitors, like all lizards, are poikilothermic or “cold-blooded.” They are most energetic after they have been heated by the morning sun, since their muscles work much more efficiently and easily when they are warm. Monitors can run quickly to chase down prey. When doing so they lift their body and tail clear off the ground.
Monitors also swim well, and may seek water as a refuge when threatened. They can walk underwater, and can use their tongue to smell underwater.
When threatened, monitors can be formidably aggressive animals. They can inflict painful bites and scratches, and the largest species are capable of killing a human. However, monitors can be readily tamed in captivity.
The Bengal monitor (Varanus bengalensis) or common Indian monitor, is a monitor lizard found widely distributed over the Indian Subcontinent, as well as parts of Southeast Asia and West Asia. This large lizard is mainly terrestrial, and its length can range from about 61 to 175 cm from the tip of the snout to the end of the tail. Young monitors may be more arboreal, but adults mainly hunt on the ground, preying mainly on arthropods, but also taking small terrestrial vertebrates, ground birds, eggs and fish.
"Varanus bengalensis is mainly found in the lowland dry zone of the Sri Lanka, but reaches elevations of ca. 500m. It is one of the most widely distributed of the living varanids. It inhabit a large range of habitats ranging from arid desert fringes to rainforests, but is most common in farmlands (particularly the coconut plantations) and dry, open forests. Land monitors reach a maximum snout to vent length of about 140 cm in Sri Lanka and large specimens can weigh over 10 kg. Land monitors spend the nights in burrows, where their body temperature decreases. The following morning they must raise their body temperatures by basking before commencing activity, hence they are rarely active early in the morning. Younger Land monitors frequent the vicinity of rivers, and that adults are found in drier forest, scrublands and grasslands unlike the water monitors which do not usually venture far from the water. They are excellent climbers. Even large adults can ascend vertical tree trunks with ease, and they are reported to be agile enough to stalk and capture even roosting bats. Despite their large size, these lizards get most of their nutrition from tiny prey and feed mainly on beetles, grubs, orthopterans, scorpions, snails, ants and other small invertebrates, which are consumed in enormous numbers. Hence they are important biological controllers of agricultural pests."-http://www.srilankanreptiles.com/TetrapodReptiles/Varanidae.html
Lunchtime at the house, something rustles around the corner and a moment later the comrade comes around the corner.
He looks past, tongue flickering, in search of food. A good meter long and not at all shy, he tries to get onto our terrace. The broom is within reach and is easily used to direct the lizard in a different direction. A hiss is the response, but after several gentle pressures, the reptile clears the area and goes to the neighboring house.