#BengalMonitor<br />#Reptiles<br />#ReptilesofPakistan<br />#WildlifeofPakistan<br />#MAhmadZoologist<br /><br />Bengal Monitor (Varanus bengalensis) | Description, Feeding, Breeding, Behaviour and Distribution | Reptiles<br /><br />Today we will talk about a lizard, the Bengal Monitor that is also called the Common Indian Monitor.<br />This monitor lizard distributed widely in the Indian Subcontinent, as well as parts of Southeast Asia and West Asia.<br />This large lizard is mainly a terrestrial animal.<br />Its length ranges from about 61 to 175 centimeters or 24 to 69 inches from the tip of the snout to the end of the tail.<br />Young monitors may be arboreal but adults mainly hunt on the ground, preying mainly on arthropods but also taking small terrestrial vertebrates, ground birds, eggs and fish.<br />The species is found in river valleys in eastern Iran, Afghanistan, India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Burma.<br />They are often found in agricultural areas.<br />Bengal monitors are solitary and found on the ground, although the young are often seen on trees.<br />Bengal monitors shelter in burrows they dig or crevices in rocks and buildings.<br />Bengal monitors are diurnal like other monitors, becoming active around 6 AM and bask in the morning sun.<br />During winter, they may take shelter and go through a period of reduced metabolic activity.<br />They are not territorial and may change their range seasonally in response to food availability.<br />They are usually shy and avoid humans.<br />They have keen eyesight and can detect human movement nearly 250 m away.<br />When caught, a few individuals may bite, but rarely do so.<br />Although they are found on agricultural land, but they prefer forests with large trees.<br />Captives have been known to live for nearly 22 years.<br />Predators of adults include pythons, mammalian predators and birds.<br />The main breeding season is June to September, but males begin to show combat behaviour by April.<br />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.<br />They sometimes make use of a termite mound to nest.<br />A single clutch of about 20 eggs is laid.<br />The eggs hatch in 168 to nearly as long as 254 days.<br />About 40 to 80 % of the eggs may hatch.<br />They are capable of rapid movement on the ground.<br />Small individuals may climb trees to escape, but larger ones prefer to escape on the ground.<br />They sometimes stand on the hind legs to get a better view or when males fight other males.<br />They can also swim well and can stay submerged for at least 17 minutes.<br />They can use both trees and bushes for shelter.<br />Bengal monitors tend to remain active the whole day.<br />Large adults may ascend vertical tree trunks, where they sometimes stalk and capture roosting bats.<br />The species is a generalist and feeds on a varied diet of invertebrates and vertebrates.<br />Invertebrate prey mostly consists of beetles and their larvae also maggots, caterpillars, centipedes, scorpions, crabs, crayfish, snails, termites, ants, and earwigs.
