Common indian monitor lizard, Varanus bengalensis, Ghorapad,by Shirishkumar Patil
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The Bengal monitor (Varanus bengalensis) or common Indian monitor, is a monitor lizard found widely distributed over South Asia. This large lizard is mainly terrestrial, and grows to about 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. Although large monitors have few predators apart from humans who hunt them for meat, younger individuals are hunted by many predators.The lizard is known as bis-cobra in western India, guishaap or goshaap in West Bengal and Bangladesh, goh in Punjab and Bihar and as ghorpad in Maharashtra. Folk belief has it that they are venomous, and in Sri Lanka their breath is believed to be poisonous. In Rajasthan, they are believed to be venomous only during the rainy season.Monitors are among the most intelligent of reptiles, and can be domesticated and trained to a limited extent, though they are not the most docile of pets. They have strong claws they use for climbing; and a popular legend has it that Shivaji's general, Tanaji Malusare, used a pet monitor with a rope tied around its belly as an aid to climbing the walls of the Sinhagad fort in the Battle of Sinhagad. (This use of monitor lizards was fairly prevalent in western India: a Maratha family, Ghorpade, took its name from individuals who specialized in training and using monitors for this purpose.) The Bengal monitor's belly skin has traditionally been used in making the drum head for the kanjira, a South Indian percussion instrument.Monitor lizards are hunted, and their body fat, extracted by boiling, is used in a wide range of folk remedie Food.Large adults may ascend vertical tree trunks, where they sometimes stalk and capture roosting bats. Their normal prey consists of beetles, grubs, orthopterans, scorpions, snails, ants and other invertebrates. Vertebrate prey is comparatively rare, and includes frogs, fish, lizards, snakes and rodents. They sometimes feed on dead animals.In areas where livestock are common, they often visit dung, where they forage for beetles and other insects.Locomotion[edit source | editbeta]
They are capable of rapid movement on the ground. Small individuals may climb trees to escape, but larger ones prefer to escape on the ground. They can climb well. On the ground, they sometimes stand on the hind legs to get a better view or when males fight other males. They can also swim well and can stay submerged for at least 17 minutes.Breeding Females may be able to retain sperm, and females held in confinement have been able to lay fertile eggs.[16] Varanus niloticus has been demonstrated to be capable of parthenogenesis. The main breeding season is June to September. Males, however, begin to show combat behaviour in April. Females dig a nest hole in level ground or a vertical bank and lay the eggs inside, filling it up and using their snouts to compact the soil. The females often dig false nests nearby and shovel soil around the area. They sometimes make use of a termite mound to nest. A single clutch of about 20 eggs are laid. The eggs hatch in 168 to nearly as long as 254 days. About 40 to 80% of the eggs may hatch. Ecology and behaviour Bengal monitors are usually solitary and usually found on the ground, although the young are often seen on trees. V. b. nebulosus has a greater propensity for tree climbing. Bengal monitors shelter in burrows they dig or crevices in rocks and buildings, whilst clouded monitors prefer tree hollows. Both races will make use of abandoned termite mounds. Bengal monitors, like other varanids, show true sleep at night and are diurnal, becoming active around 6 AM and bask in the morning sun] During winter, in the colder parts of their distribution range, they may take shelter and go through a period of reduced metabolic activity. They are not territorial, and may change their range seasonally in response to food availability.They are usually shy and avoid humans. They have keen eyesight and can detect human movement nearly 250 m away. When caught, a few individuals may bite, but rarely do .Captives have been known to live for nearly 22 years.Predators of adults include pythons, mammalian predators and birds. A number of ectoparasites and endoparasites are recorded.The species ranges from Iran to Java, among the most widely distributed of varanid lizards. It is found in river valleys in eastern Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Burma. The subspecies Varanus bengalensis nebulosus, the clouded monitor, occurs in southern Burma, Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, Malaysia, Sumatra, Java and the Sunda Islands. They have not been confirmed on Sumatra, and have been found to be absent from the Andaman Islands.