Monitor lizards, also known as biawak or goannas, genus Varanus, are members of the family Varanidae. These lizards have a distinctive upper set of teeth to intimidate their predators when in danger. Monitor lizards are usually large reptiles. They have long necks, powerful tails and claws, and well-developed limbs.
A Monitor lizard, the kind that Shivaji used in order to climb up the sides of a fort wall!
Various names for it are Bis-cobra in western India, Guishaap or Goshaap in West Bengal and Bangladesh, and ghorpad in Maharashtra.
Bengal monitor (Varanus bengalensis) or the Common Indian Monitor, is a monitor lizard found widely in South Asia. This large lizard is mainly terrestrial and grows to about 185 centimeters from the tip of the snout to the tail. Young monitors may be more arboreal (tree dwelling) but adults mainly hunt on the ground preying on arthropods but also taking small terrestrial vertebrates, birds and eggs. Although large monitors have few predators apart from humans who hunt them for meat, younger individuals are hunted by numerous predators.
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