This is a featured photo of the month. I will try and update this monthly with a favorite photo.
Common Name: Water Monitor
Scientific Name: Varanus salvator
Date Taken: January 17, 2018
Location: Kaeng Krachan National Park, Thailand
Photographer: Howard Cunningham
One of the largest lizards in the world, it is widely distributed across South and Southeast Asia. It inhabits a variety of environments, including rivers, swamps, mangrove forests, lakes, canals, and even urban waterways, where it is an excellent swimmer and climber. An opportunistic carnivore and scavenger, it feeds on fish, crabs, birds, eggs, small mammals, reptiles, carrion, and human food waste. Females lay their eggs in burrows, termite mounds, or rotting vegetation, where the warmth generated by decomposition helps incubate the eggs. Water Monitors are usually shy and play an important ecological role by helping to control prey populations and remove carrion from the environment.
