A Lizard with an eerie claw

 

The flashing of the white leaves of Mussaenda along with the scintillating rays from the nearby water droplets on the grass blades, the unbearable heat, and dryness from the sun made me sit down beneath the shady canopy of a humongous tree. The hysterical laugh of the Treepies and the noisy chattering of the Mynas from the nearby canopies told me that no one likes the scorching rays of the afternoon sun. The wilted tender leaves and the blooms stood as a witness for how hot the day was. Lying down on a relatively cool grassy carpet and looking at the glistening sun rays changing their incidence between the canopy leaves was truly blissful.

Waking up to the fissle of dry leaves caused by the sprints of a mongoose, I dusted my bag and walked further and reached a swampy mangrove patch with treetops so closely knit to each other making the entire place look like a dark dungeon, the inundated ground made it all damp and marshy. Long sticks of breathing roots standstill from the ground easing the aeration for plants. The Pied-Paddy skimmers and Fulvous- Forest skimmers alighted on these roots to rest. The white plumage of the Egrets juxtaposed to the dark-damp environment made it a total paradise. The bunched sedges and rushes held the otherwise squishy soil together. I stood there amidst these creatures in a total sense of trance and sighed with peace. A weak splash of slush caught my attention, there was something long and brown with a tapering tip beating the bushes of sedges. It seemed incongruous, thereby intrigued me to have a closer look.  After all, waking in a swampy place is a battle with the soil for every step you take. The steady and mindful walking reached me up to the thumb-rule's length of the animal. With no wish to intrude its territory further I halted there, with the help of my binoculars it turned out to be a huge lizard with rugged small brown checkers all over the body. Its claws were too strange and scary to look at, the continuous flicking of its tongue gave me an inkling that it sensed me. It then walked out of the bushes giving me a complete view. 

Happy with the good glimpse of such a large lizard, I walked away without disturbing it or the place, except for leaving behind some deep footprints into which the brackish water will seep through and seal off on the course of time.

Photo of a Bengal Monitor Lizard

Picture Courtesy: Sushil Chikane

THUMB RULE OF ANIMAL WATCHING:  It simply means that one has to stay so far from the animal when one can cover the entire animal with this thumb.

KNOW MORE ABOUT THE ANIMAL:

1. Monitor Lizards are large lizards belonging to the genus Varanus. They are well-distributed across the Indian-subcontinent, ranging from arid deserts, scrublands, evergreen forests, and swampy marshes.

2. India hosts four monitor lizard species (a) Varanus benghalensis [The Bengal Monitor Lizard] (b) V flavescence [The Yellow Monitor Lizard] (c) V salvator [The Water Monitor Lizard] (d) V griseus [The Desert Monitor Lizard].

3. These are predominantly carnivorous, they are known to feed on eggs, birds, and other small reptiles. Occasionally found to feed on leaves too. They can switch their dietary patterns depending on where they live and what they get to feed on. 

4. Monitor Lizards are very stealthy and avoid humans. They like any other animals almost never attack humans unless provoked. Their bite is believed to have a mild dose of venom and the bite marks can be a breeding ground for several microbes. 

5. "Hatha Jodi" is a trade name for the dried male reproductive organs of the Bengal monitor lizard. It is believed to bring prosperity and luck to the person who possesses it. Their meat is believed to increase the stamina and overall debility of humans. Their skins are used to make several fashionable accessories. These things put together are some of the reasons for their population decline.