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In the heart of Bangkok, You will see such signs in parks. Don’t be alarmed, Monitors are shy creatures.
The lace monitor or lace goanna (Varanus varius) is a member of the monitor lizard family, Australian members of which are commonly known as goannas. It belongs to the subgenus Varanus.
Lace monitors are the second-largest monitor in Australia after the perentie. They can be as long as 2.1 m (over 6.8 ft) with a head-and-body length of up to 76.5 cm (2.5 ft). The tail is long and slender and about 1.5 times the length of the head and body.
The maximum weight of lace monitor can be 20 kg (44 lb), but most adults are much smaller.
These common terrestrial and often arboreal monitors are found in eastern Australia and range from Cape Bedford on Cape York Peninsula to south-eastern South Australia. They frequent both open and closed forests and forage over long distances (up to 3 km a day).
They are mainly active from September to May, but are inactive in cooler weather and shelter in tree hollows or under fallen trees or large rocks.
The females lay four to 14 eggs in spring or summer in termite nests. They frequently attack the large composting nests of scrub turkeys to steal their eggs, and often show injuries on their tails inflicted by male scrub turkeys pecking at them to drive them away.
Their diets typically consist of insects, reptiles, small mammals, birds, and birds' eggs. They are also carrion eaters, feeding on already dead carcasses of other wildlife. Lace monitors will also forage in areas inhabited by people, raiding chicken coops for poultry and eggs, rummaging through unprotected domestic garbage bags, and rubbish bins in picnic and recreational areas.
They are preyed upon by dingoes and birds of prey, and like all Australian goannas, they were a favourite traditional food of Australian Aboriginal peoples, and their fat was particularly valued as a medicine and for use in ceremonies. (From Wikipedia).
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Blog: www.alldigi.com
Nikon D810 camera with 200-500mm, f/5.6E ED lens at 500mm.
Explored.
Impressions of India – 39
Monitor lizard spotted in Keoladeo National Park, a Bird Sanctuary in Bharatpur, in the Indian state of Rajasthan.
The monitor lizards are large lizards in the genus Varanus. They are native to Africa, Asia and Oceania, but are now found also in the Americas as an invasive species. A total of 79 species are currently recognized.
Monitor lizards have long necks, powerful tails and claws, and well-developed limbs. The adult length of extant species ranges from 20 cm (7.9 in) in some species, to over 3 m (10 ft) in the case of the Komodo dragon, though the extinct varanid known as megalania (Varanus priscus) may have been capable of reaching lengths of more than 7 m (23 ft). Most monitor species are terrestrial, but arboreal and semiaquatic monitors are also known. While most monitor lizards are carnivorous, eating eggs, smaller reptiles, fish, birds and small mammals, some also eat fruit and vegetation, depending on where they live.
If you like this picture from my India trip, you can see more at www.flickr.com/photos/chizuka/albums/72157673735932443
❖ Thank you as always for your visits, appreciation and your comments
❖ Merci comme toujours de vos visites, vos appréciations et vos commentaires.
❖ You can also see my work on 500PX,
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click to activate the icon of slideshow: the small triangle inscribed in the small rectangle, at the top right, in the photostream;
or…. Press the “L” button to zoom in the image;
clicca sulla piccola icona per attivare lo slideshow: sulla facciata principale del photostream, in alto a destra c'è un piccolo rettangolo (rappresenta il monitor) con dentro un piccolo triangolo nero;
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The cult of the three holy martyr brothers Alfio, Filadelfo and Cirino is widespread in almost all of Eastern Sicily since the early Middle Ages, the news we have on the life and martyrdom of the three brothers are contained in a document written by a Basilian monk , his own name Basilio, whose manuscript is in the Vatican Library, with the number 1591; the manuscript reports that the three saints suffered the persecution of Valerian and martyrdom in 253; the three brothers were born in Vaste, in the province of Lecce, were arrested (and later martyred) for having professed the Christian religion using their noble influence, as their parents, Vitale and Beatrice had previously done, who were also they barbarously martyred for professing their religious beliefs; the three brothers, after having undergone several trials throughout the central-southern territory of Italy, since no one wanted to condemn them with a definitive sentence as belonging to one of the most important families of the empire, were brought to Taormina by Tertullo, a young Roman patrician and head of the island, who, failing to detach them from their creed, sent them to Lentini; during the journey, the group stopped in two places, here the villages of Sant'Alfio and Trecastagni were born, then they reached Catania and were imprisoned here, finally they were taken to Lentini, where they died through atrocious tortures. Before undergoing martyrdom, they were intercessors of miraculous works, Tecla and Giustina were two young countesses, among them cousins, Tecla for more than six years suffered from a severe form of paralysis in the legs, while Giustina was blind in one eye, they learning of miraculous healings that occurred through their intercession during their forced journey from Rome to Lentini, they turned to them, receiving healing. On the day of their torture they were handcuffed and whipped in the streets of the city, exposed naked and barefoot to the ridicule of the people: Alfio's tongue was ripped off (he became the patron saint of the Mutes), Philadelphus was burned on a grill, Cirino was thrown in a cauldron of boiling pitch. The villages of Sant’Alfio and Trecastagni, on the slopes of Etna, and of Lentini, commemorate the three Saints Brothers with very heartfelt and participatory traditional feast. The photographic story that I present here was made this year on the occasion of the feast held on the first Sunday of May in the Etnean village of Sant’Alfio; the evenings of the two Thursdays and the two Fridays preceding the feast, small bonfires are lit in front of the houses called "a dera", from the name of the resinous wood that is used to light the fire, the night of the dera recalls the night in which the three brothers crossed the village of Sant'Alfio to go to Lentini. During the procession, the float of the three brothers Alfio, Filadelfo and Cirino is pulled with ropes by the devotees from the front, and at the same time is also pushed from behind, here are the women who, for devotion, make the journey barefoot; during the various stops, the children are hoisted onto the float by devoted experts, and placed in the presence of the Three Brothers, to ask for their intercession and divine protection; the priest caught with a very witty expression while embracing one of the supports of the canopy of the float, has a particular meaning, he wishes to express his joy in taking his place on the float, after the feast has been suppressed for two years, due to the rules prudential, issued to counter the pandemic spread of covid-19.
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Il culto dei tre fratelli santi martiri Alfio, Filadelfo e Cirino è molto diffuso in quasi tutta la Sicilia Orientale fin dall'alto medioevo, le notizie che possediamo sulla vita e sul martirio dei tre fratelli, sono contenute in un documento scritto da un monaco basiliano, di nome proprio Basilio, il cui manoscritto si trova nella Biblioteca Vaticana, col numero 1591; il manoscritto riporta che i tre Santi hanno subito il la persecuzione di Valeriano ed il martirio nel 253; i tre fratelli nacquero a Vaste, in provincia di Lecce, vennero arrestati (ed in seguito martirizzati) per aver professato la religione cristiana utilizzando la loro influenza nobile, come avevano fatto in precedenza i loro genitori, Vitale e Beatrice, i quali furono anch’essi barbaramente martirizzati per aver professato il loro credo religioso; i tre fratelli, dopo aver subito parecchi processi per tutto il territorio centro-meridionale d'Italia, visto che nessuno voleva condannarli con una sentenza definitiva in quanto appartenenti ad una delle famiglie più importanti dell’impero, furono portati a Taormina da Tertullo, giovane patrizio romano e Preside dell'isola, il quale non riuscendo a scostarli dal loro credo li inviò a Lentini; durante il tragitto, il gruppo si fermò in due luoghi, qui in seguito nacquero i paesi di Sant'Alfio e Trecastagni, poi giunsero a Catania e qui furono rinchiusi in carcere, infine furono condotti a Lentini, dove trovarono la morte mediante atroci supplizi. Prima di subire il martirio, essi furono intercessori di opere miracolose, Tecla e Giustina erano due giovani contesse, tra loro cugine, Tecla da più di sei anni soffriva di una grave forma di paralisi alle gambe, mentre Giustina era cieca in un occhio, esse venendo a conoscenza di guarigioni miracolose avvenute per loro intercessione durante il loro tragitto forzato da Roma a Lentini, si rivolsero a loro, ricevendo la guarigione. Il giorno del loro supplizio furno ammanettati e frustati per le vie della città, esposti nudi e scalzi allo scherno del popolo: ad Alfio venne strappata la lingua (divenne così il Santo protettore dei Muti), Filadelfo fu bruciato su di una graticola, Cirino fu gettato in una caldaia di pece bollente. I paesi di Sant’Alfio e di Trecastagni, alle pendici dell’Etna, e di Lentini, ricordano i tre Santi Fratelli con delle feste tradizionali molto sentite e partecipate. Il racconto fotografico che qui presento, è stato realizzato quest’anno in occasione della festa che si tiene la prima domenica di maggio nel paesino etneo di Sant’Alfio; le sere dei due giovedì e i due venerdì che precedono la festa, si accendono davanti alle case dei piccoli falò chiamati “a dera”, dal nome della legna resinosa che viene usata per accendere il fuoco, la notte della dera ricorda la notte in cui i tre fratelli attraversarono il paese di Sant'Alfio per recarsi a Lentini. Durante la processione, la vara dei tre fratelli Alfio, Filadelfo e Cirino viene trainata con funi dai devoti dal davanti, ed al contempo viene spinta anche da dietro, qui ci sono le donne che, per devozione, compiono il percorso scalze; durante le varie soste, i bambini vengono issati sulla vara da esperti devoti, e messi al cospetto dei tre Fratelli, per chiedere la loro intercessione e protezione divina; il sacerdote colto con una espressione molto spiritosa mentre abbraccia uno dei sostegni del baldacchino della vara, ha un significato particolare, egli desidera manifestare la sua gioia nel prendere posto sulla vara, dopo che per due anni la festa è stata soppressa, a causa delle norme prudenziali, emanate per contrastare la diffusione pandemica del covid-19.
Lindsey bought this vintage photo the other day. We can’t find any distinguishing logo or marks on it. If anyone out there has a suggestion on how to identify where this was taken, we would love to hear from you.
The Water Monitor (Varanus salvator) is a large species of monitor lizard capable of growing to 3.0 metres in length, with the average size of most adults at 1.5 metres long. Maximum weight of Varanus salvator can be over 25 kilograms, but most are half that size. Their body is muscular with a long, powerful, laterally compressed tail.
Water monitors are one of the most common monitor lizards found throughout Asia, and range from Sri Lanka, India, Indochina, the Malay Peninsula and various islands of Indonesia, living in areas close to water.
Water monitors can be defensive, using their tail, claws, and jaws when fighting. They are excellent swimmers, using the raised fin located on their tails to steer through water. Water Monitors are carnivores, and have a wide range of foods. They are known to eat fish, frogs, rodents, birds, crabs, and snakes. They have also been known to eat turtles, as well as young crocodiles and crocodile eggs.
This picture was taken in in the Rimba (= Southeast Asian rainforest) of Burgers Zoo in Arnhem, the Netherlands.
De watervaraan (Varanus salvator) is een varaan die voorkomt in India, Sri Lanka, China en Zuidoost-Azië; en leeft in rivieren, moerassen en mangrovegebieden.
Het mannetje van de watervaraan kan maximaal 3 meter lang worden. Daarmee is het een van de grootste hagedissoorten ter wereld. Het gemiddelde volwassen exemplaar is zo'n 1,5 meter lang, waarbij het mannetje meestal groter en zwaarder is dan het vrouwtje. De varaan is meestal donkerbruin tot zwart van kleur met gele plekken aan de onderkant. Deze gele plekken vervagen naarmate ze ouder worden.
De watervaraan heeft een lange nek, met een grote spitse kop. De staart is afgeplat en ze hebben grote sterke poten, waarmee ze zich verbazingwekkend snel voortbewegen.
Wanneer watervaranen in gevaar zijn, kunnen ze met hun sterke poten zelfs in een boom klimmen. Watervaranen kunnen zo'n 15 jaar oud worden.
De watervaraan is een carnivoor en niet erg kieskeurig wat betreft zijn prooi.
De meest voorkomende prooien van de watervaraan zijn vogels, vissen, eieren, kleine zoogdieren, zoals ratten en muizen, hagedissen, kikkers, slangen, kleine krokodillen en schildpadden. De varaan kan bij de jacht in het water tot 30 minuten onder water blijven.
Deze foto is genomen in de Rimba, deel van Burgers Zoo in Arnhem met planten en dieren uit het zuid-oost Aziatisch regenwoud.
Info Wikipedia
Site Burgers Zoo in Dutch, English and German: www.burgerszoo.eu/
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All rights reserved. Copyright © Martien Uiterweerd. All my images are protected under international authors copyright laws and may not be downloaded, reproduced, copied, transmitted or manipulated without my written explicit permission.
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Inside the isolation cell, complete with a 180 degree mirror enabling staff to monitor the patient without having to enter. This would have been used if a patient had become physically violent and abusive towards other patients or members of staff
An adult male Komodo Dragon, Varanus komodoensis, sits beside a large piece of rotting Buffalo flesh, having just torn it off the putrid, mud-covered carcass in the background, Rinca Island, Indonesia.
Argyroxiphium sandwicense subsp. macrocephalum (Ahinahina, Haleakala silversword)
Monitoring with Stacey at Silversword loop Haleakala National Park, Maui, Hawaii.
October 03, 2001
Perceptum never took to monitors as eagerly as the Vinlanders (who had invented the ship type as a substitute for ocean-going battleships), at least not during the Imperial era. The Marina Imperiale (Imperial Navy) exercised a budget big enough to maintain an enormous trans-oceanic Battlefleet that could respond to crises and strategic threats anywhere in the world. Modern Perceptum, with its much reduced navy and economic base, didn’t have that luxury.
The Grande Marina (Grand Navy) operated a much smaller Battlefleet, and thus turned to the monitor as a cheap method of providing big guns to the defense of its colonial possessions. Those built in the 1880’s were ugly, flawed but powerfully armed gun platforms. Those, like the Pugilist class, that were built during and after the Great Re-Armament were armed with smaller, cruiser-sized guns but were better able to traverse treacherous and shallow waters. More importantly, they had larger secondary batteries and were maneuverable enough to tango with torpedo armed ships that would have easily sunk preceding classes of Perceptan monitors.
But unlike their predecessors, the Pugilists were largely incapable of traversing the open ocean safely, limiting them to riverine and coastal operations.
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Monitor Memorial
sculptor: Antonio De Filippo, 1938
dedicated: November 6, 1938
Monsignor McGolrick Park
Greenpoint, Brooklyn, New York City, New York
inscription:
ERECTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE / STATE OF NEW YORK / TO COMMEMORATE THE BATTLE OF THE / MONITOR AND MERRIMAC / MARCH 9TH, 1862 / AND IN MEMORY / OF THE MEN OF THE MONITOR / AND ITS DESIGNER - JOHN ERICSSON
Permanent noise monitors, strategically placed throughout the community, are designed to capture noise events associated with Centennial Airport traffic. (CENTENNIAL AIRPORT PHOTO BY Deborah Grigsby Smith)
The USS Monitor was the revolutionary all iron design with the world's first nautical rotating gun turret. It was designed by John Ericsson and financed and promoted to the Navy by Madison's Cornelius Scranton Bushnell. When the Union learned that the Confederates were building an iron clad ship to fight against Federal blockades of Southern ports, it quickly countered with the Monitor. See www.madisonhistory.org/uss-monitor/ for the whole story. The Monitor's most notable engagement was against the CSS Virginia (a.k.a USS Merrimack) during America's Civil War at Hampton Roads, Va. in March of 1862.
This is a large (1/4"=1' scale) museum-quality wooden model of the USS Monitor in its battle-ready appearance. The model was built in the early 1970's by Arthur G. Henning, Inc, 17 South 3rd Ave., Mount Vernon, NY 10550, to exact measurements from archival blueprints. It is a duplicate of the model ship on display at the Smithsonian, which the Henning firm also produced. According to the firm, ours has more detail inside the turret. The ship model includes an anchor and the Ericsson-designed propellor. Painted flat black with red-lead colored hull. The ship model is 43 1/2" long X 10 3/4" wide X 6 1/2" high. It was commissioned by Dr. Philip S. Platt, a previous MHS President, in 1974 for $1,200. It was donated by him to be part of the 1974 MHS exhibit about Cornelius Bushnell and the Monitor.
ACC# 1974.016.002
See other USS Monitor-related images at flic.kr/s/aHBqjzRDR2. (Photo credit - Bob Gundersen www.flickr.com/photos/bobphoto51/albums)
Deliver Us ….
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click to activate the icon of slideshow: the small triangle inscribed in the small rectangle, at the top right, in the photostream;
or…. Press the “L” button to zoom in the image;
clicca sulla piccola icona per attivare lo slideshow: sulla facciata principale del photostream, in alto a destra c'è un piccolo rettangolo (rappresenta il monitor) con dentro un piccolo triangolo nero;
oppure…. premi il tasto “L” per ingrandire l'immagine;
www.worldphoto.org/sony-world-photography-awards/winners-...
www.fotografidigitali.it/gallery/2726/opere-italiane-segn...
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With this photographic story made last year 2022, in the town of Limina, in the province of Messina (I made the previous story in the town of Calatabiano in the province of Catania), of the two typical traditional Sicilian religious feasts that have in common the devotion towards San Filippo, I end with this Saint (with the next two stories, I will take a break, with two topics of a different nature, different from the Sicilian religious feasts); Saint Philip is depicted in "black" color because a legend sees Him as the protagonist of a fight in the Underworld against Lucifer, from whose fight He comes out covered in soot. Saint Philip is a much celebrated saint here in Sicily, but not only that, He is also celebrated in the Salerno area, in Calabria (following the path he took during his life) up to the cult of Him present on the island of Malta. The proximity to Taormina (the country where I live and work), the towns of Calatabiano and Limina, made my task easier, in both towns the traditional feasts, take place over two days; in Limina during the first day the Saint is carried on the shoulders from a church located on the outskirts of the center of the town of Limina to "Murazzo locality", it is about 8 kilometers of uninterrupted running (except for a brief stop for recollection in the locality of "Durbi"), therefore eight days away (the so-called "octave") the Saint comes out carried on his shoulder with an "unbridled-fiendish" run from another church in Limina, arriving after a very steep and very tiring climb up to the top of " Calvario mountain", to then go back down and wander among the districts of the town, (and beyond, up to the district of Durbi, to then return): it is not a question of a simple wandering, in well-established moments, the Saint is "made to dance" with an unbridled coming and going on straight paths alternating with a whirling rotary movement on itself: this is a substantial difference with the float of Calatabiano, the latter is very heavy (about 12 quintals), it follows an impervious path, very steep and steep, with stone "steps" partially missing (the ancient path to reach the Norman castle), the "parody" with the exorcisms performed by the Black Saint, consists in the relative speed impressed on the Saint during the path, instead in Limina, the vara being lighter, allows to devotees rapid, rectilinear and swirling gaits, they too recall the convulsive movements made by the demoniacs subjected to the exorcisms of the Saint (a certain risk of rollover is inherent in both vare). In the town of Calatabiano San Filippo acquires the appellative of "Siriaco", i.e. coming from Syria, while in the town of Limina he acquires the appellation "d'Agira", from the name of the town, in the province of Enna, where He will die: is always the same saint (the physiognomy of the face changes slightly), in both statues the right hand is raised to send a blessing, or to perform an exorcism, the left hand holds a book (it is the "apotropaic" document that gave Him St. Peter to enable Him to defeat the forces of Evil). As in the previous story on San Filippo of Calatabiano, also in this one by Limina, in inserting the photographs I did not use a "chronological criterion" of the two days. Now a few brief notes on the life of this saint, also to try to understand how the cult of him was born in Sicily, but also in other countries. There are two sources that speak of San Filippo, called "the Chronicles of Eusebio d'Agira" and "the Chronicles of Athanasius", these chronicles are largely discordant with each other, except for the descriptions on His characteristics as a priest and miracle worker, on His ability to perform exorcisms by driving out demons from the possessed. He was probably born in Thrace (south-eastern region of the Balkan peninsula in 40 AD (?), at the time it was a Roman province, in the time of Arcadius, Eastern Roman emperor, born of a Syrian father and a Roman mother, in during his childhood he was educated to the principles of Christianity which was spreading also in those lands.He comes from Thrace to Rome, is ordained a priest by Peter, and it is by him that he is sent to Sicily (pagan land under Roman rule), with the task to evangelize those places and perform exorcisms; he disembarked at Capo Faro in Messina starting his mandate immediately, then he traveled along the eastern part of Sicily heading south towards Etna (here Limina and Calatabiano, affected by his passage, thanks to His ability as a healer and exorcist, they become devoted to him); thus he reaches the town of Agira (Enna), where He dies there after forty years of Apostolate on the island.
Con questo racconto fotografico, realizzato in due giornate nel maggio dello scorso anno 2022 nel paese di Limina, in provincia di Messina (il precedente racconto l’ho realizzato nel paese di Calatabiano in provincia di Catania), delle due tipiche feste religiose tradizionali siciliane che hanno in comune la devozione verso San Filippo, termino con questo Santo; Egli viene raffigurato di colore “nero” poiché una leggenda lo vede protagonista di una lotta negli Inferi contro Lucifero, dalla cui lotta ne viene fuori ricoperto di fuliggine. San Filippo è un santo molto festeggiato qui in Sicilia, ma lo è anche nel Salernitano, in Calabria (seguendo il suo percorso fatto in vita) fino ad arrivare al suo culto presente nell’isola di Malta. La vicinanza con Taormina (paese nel quale abito e lavoro), dei paesi di Calatabiano e Limina, mi ha facilitato il compito; in entrambi i paesi le feste si svolgono in due giornate; a Limina durante la prima giornata il Santo viene portato in spalla da una chiesa posta in lieve periferia dal centro del paese di Limina fino “al borgo Murazzo”, sono circa 8 chilometri di corsa ininterrotta (tranne una breve sosta di raccoglimento in località “Durbi”), quindi ad otto giorni di distanza (la cosiddetta “ottava”) il Santo esce portato in spalla con una corsa “sfrenata-indiavolata” da un’altra chiesa di Limina, giungendo dopo una ripidissima e faticosissima salita fino all’apice del “Monte Calvario”, per poi ridiscenderne e girovagare tra i quartieri del paese, (ed oltre, fino alla contrada di Durbi, per poi ritornare): non si tratta di un semplice girovagare, in momenti ben stabiliti, il Santo viene “fatto ballare” con uno sfrenato andirivieni su percorsi rettilinei alternato ad un movimento rotatorio vorticoso su se stesso: questa è una differenza sostanziale con la vara di Calatabiano, quest’ultima è pesantissima (circa 12 quintali), percorre un percorso impervio, molto ripido e scosceso, con “gradoni” in pietra molto alti in parte mancanti (l’antico percorso per giungere al castello Normanno), la “parodia” con gli esorcismi compiuti dal Santo Nero, consiste nella relativa velocità impressa al Santo durante il percorso, invece a Limina, la vara essendo più leggera, consente ai devoti andature rapide, rettilinee e vorticose, anch’essi rievocano i movimenti convulsi compiuti dagli indemoniati sottoposti agli esorcismi del Santo (un certo rischio di capovolgimento è insito in entrambe le vare). Nel paese di Calatabiano San Filippo acquista l’appellativo di “Siriaco”, cioè proveniente dalla Siria, mentre nel paese di Limina Egli acquista l’appellativo “d’Agira”, dal nome del paese, in provincia di Enna, dove egli morirà: è sempre lo stesso santo (cambia un pochino la fisionomia del volto), in entrambe le statue la mano destra è alzata ad inviare una benedizione, oppure ad effettuare un esorcismo, la mano sinistra stringe un libro (è il documento “apotropaico” che gli diede San Pietro, per consentirgli di vincere le forze del Male). Come nel precedente racconto su San Filippo di Calatabiano, anche in questo di Limina, nell’inserire le fotografie non ho utilizzato un “criterio cronologico” delle due giornate. Ora qualche breve cenno sulla vita di questo santo, anche per cercare di capire come nasce il suo culto in Sicilia, ma anche in altri paesi. Le fonti che parlano di San Filippo sono due, chiamate “le Cronache di Eusebio d’Agira” e “le Cronache di Atanasio”, queste cronache tra loro sono in buona parte discordanti, tranne le descrizioni sulle sue caratteristiche di sacerdote e di taumaturgo, sulle sue capacità di compiere esorcismi scacciando i demoni dagli impossessati. Egli nacque probabilmente in Tracia (regione sud-orientale della penisola balcanica nel 40 d.C. (?), all’epoca era una provincia romana, ai tempi d’Arcadio, imperatore romano d’Oriente, nato da padre siriano e da madre romana, nella sua infanzia fu educato ai principi del Cristianesimo che andava propagandosi anche in quelle terre. Egli giunge dalla Tracia a Roma, viene ordinato sacerdote da Pietro, ed è proprio da Lui che viene mandato in Sicilia (terra pagana sotto il dominio Romano), col compito di evangelizzare quei luoghi e compiere esorcismi; sbarca a Capo Faro a Messina iniziando fin da subito il suo mandato, poi percorre la fascia orientale della Sicilia dirigendosi a sud verso l’Etna (ecco che Limina e Calatabiano, interessati dal suo passaggio, grazie alle sue capacità di guaritore ed esorcista, gli divengono devote); giunge così al paese di Agira (Enna), dove lì muore dopo quarant’anni di Apostolato nell’isola.
Varanus niloticus
A juvenile found basking along a waterway in south Florida. These large, diurnal predators have become established in south Florida.
An Asian water monitor [Varanus salvator salvator (Laurenti, 1768). This sub-species is endemic in Sri Lanka.
The Asian water monitor is a large varanid lizard native to South and Southeast Asia. It is one of the most common monitor lizards in Asia, ranging from Sri Lanka and coastal northeast India to Indochina, Malay Peninsula, and Indonesian islands where it lives close to water. It is among the largest squamates in the world.
The Asian water monitor is also called Malayan water monitor, common water monitor, two-banded monitor, rice lizard, ring lizard, plain lizard and no-mark lizard, as well as simply water monitor.
Breeding maturity is attained for males when they are a relatively modest 40 cm (16 in) long and weigh 1 kg (2.2 lb), and for females at 50 cm (20 in). However, they grow much larger throughout life, with males being larger than females. Adults rarely exceed 1.5–2 m (4.9–6.6 ft) in length, but the largest specimen on record, from Sri Lanka, measured 3.21 m (10.5 ft). A common mature weight of V. salvator can be 19.5 kg (43 lb). However, 80 males killed for the leather trade in Sumatra averaged only 3.42 kg (7.5 lb) and 56.6 cm (22.3 in) snout-to-vent and 142 cm (56 in) in total length; 42 females averaged only 3.52 kg (7.8 lb) and 59 cm (23 in) snout-to-vent and 149.6 cm (58.9 in) in total length, although unskinned outsized specimens weighed 16 to 20 kg (35 to 44 lb).
Another study from the same area by the same authors similarly estimated mean body mass for mature specimens at 20 kg (44 lb) while yet another study found a series of adults to weigh 7.6 kg (17 lb). The maximum weight of the species is over 50 kg (110 lb). In exceptional cases, the species has been reported to reach 75 to 90 kg (165 to 198 lb), though most such reports are unverified and may be unreliable.
They are the world's second-heaviest lizard, after the Komodo dragon. Their bodies are muscular, with long, powerful, laterally compressed tails. The scales in this species are keeled; scales found on top of the head have been noted to be larger than those located on the back. Water monitors are often defined by their dark brown or blackish coloration with yellow spots found on their underside- these yellow markings have a tendency to disappear gradually with age. This species is also denoted by the blackish band with yellow edges extending back from each eye.
These monitors have very long necks and an elongated snout. They use their powerful jaws, serrated teeth and sharp claws for both predation and defense. In captivity, Asian water monitors' life expectancy has been determined to be anywhere between 11–25 years depending on conditions, in the wild it is considerably shorter.
The Asian water monitor is widely distributed from India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Myanmar and Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, the Chinese Guangxi and Hainan provinces, Malaysia, Singapore to the Sunda islands Sumatra, Java, Bali, Borneo and Sulawesi. It inhabits primarily lowland freshwater and brackish wetlands. It has been recorded up to an altitude of 1,800 m (5,900 ft).
Asian water monitors are semiaquatic and opportunistic; they inhabit a variety of natural habitats though predominantly this species resides in primary forests and mangrove swamps. It has been noted that these monitors are not deterred from living in areas of human disturbance. In fact, they have been known to adapt and thrive in agricultural areas as well as cities with canal systems (such as in Sri Lanka, where they are not hunted or persecuted by humans). This species does not thrive in habitats with extensive loss of natural vegetation and aquatic resources. Habitats that are considered to be most important to this species are mangrove vegetation, swamps, wetlands, and altitudes below 1000 meters.
Water monitors defend themselves using their tails, claws, and jaws. They are excellent swimmers, using the raised fin on their tails to steer through water. They are carnivores, and consume a wide range of prey. They are known to eat fish, frogs, rodents, birds, crabs, and snakes. They have also been known to eat turtles, as well as young crocodiles and crocodile eggs. Water monitors have been observed eating catfish in a fashion similar to a mammalian carnivore, tearing off chunks of meat with their sharp teeth while holding it with their front legs and then separating different parts of the fish for sequential consumption.
In dominantly aquatic habitats their semiaquatic behavior is considered to provide a measure of safety from predators. Paired with their generalist diet, this is thought to contribute to their ecological plasticity.ref name=IUCN /> When hunted by predators such as the king cobra (Ophiophagus hannah) they will climb trees using their powerful legs and claws. If this evasion is not enough to escape danger, they have also been known to jump from trees into streams for safety, a tactic similar to that of the green iguana (Iguana iguana).[19]
Like the Komodo dragon, the water monitor will often eat carrion. They have a keen sense of smell and can smell a carcass from far away. They are known to feed on dead human bodies. While on the one hand their presence can be helpful in locating a missing person in forensic investigations, on the other hand they can inflict further injuries to the corpse, complicating ascertainment of the cause of death.
The first description of the water monitor and its behaviour in English literature was made in 1681 by Robert Knox, who observed it during his long confinement in the Kingdom of Kandy: “There is a Creature here called Kobberaguion, resembling an Alligator. The biggest may be five or six feet long, speckled black and white. He lives most upon the Land, but will take the water and dive under it: hath a long blue forked tongue like a sting, which he puts forth and hisseth and gapeth, but doth not bite nor sting, tho the appearance of him would scare those that knew not what he was. He is not afraid of people, but will lie gaping and hissing at them in the way, and will scarce stir out of it. He will come and eat Carrion with the Dogs and Jackals, and will not be scared away by them, but if they come near to bark or snap at him, with his tail, which is long like a whip, he will so slash them, that they will run away and howl.”
Water monitors should be handled with care since they have many sharp teeth and can give gashing bites that can sever tendons and veins, causing extensive bleeding. The bite of a large pet water monitor was described by its American owner as being worse than that of a rattlesnake.
Reference: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asian_water_monitor
I can't exactly say what this is, but due to its proximity to the edge of the Mt. Vesuvius caldera, I'd say this is likely some sort of seismic monitoring device.
I call it a monster, because that gaping hole in the background has a diameter of 450 metres and a depth of 300 metres, and is considered to be the most dangerous volcano in Europe because 3,000,000 people live near enough to be affected by an eruption, with at least 600,000 in the danger zone.