#BengalMonitor
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Bengal Monitor (Varanus bengalensis) | Description, Feeding, Breeding, Behaviour and Distribution | Reptiles
Today we will talk about a lizard, the Bengal Monitor that is also called the Common Indian Monitor.
This monitor lizard distributed widely in the Indian Subcontinent, as well as parts of Southeast Asia and West Asia.
This large lizard is mainly a terrestrial animal.
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.
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.
The species is found in river valleys in eastern Iran, Afghanistan, India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Burma.
They are often found in agricultural areas.
Bengal monitors are solitary and found on the ground, although the young are often seen on trees.
Bengal monitors shelter in burrows they dig or crevices in rocks and buildings.
Bengal monitors are diurnal like other monitors, becoming active around 6 AM and bask in the morning sun.
During winter, 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 so.
Although they are found on agricultural land, but they prefer forests with large trees.
Captives have been known to live for nearly 22 years.
Predators of adults include pythons, mammalian predators and birds.
The main breeding season is June to September, but males begin to show combat behaviour by 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.
They sometimes make use of a termite mound to nest.
A single clutch of about 20 eggs is laid.
The eggs hatch in 168 to nearly as long as 254 days.
About 40 to 80 % of the eggs may hatch.
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 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.
They can use both trees and bushes for shelter.
Bengal monitors tend to remain active the whole day.
Large adults may ascend vertical tree trunks, where they sometimes stalk and capture roosting bats.
The species is a generalist and feeds on a varied diet of invertebrates and vertebrates.
Invertebrate prey mostly consists of beetles and their larvae also maggots, caterpillars, centipedes, scorpions, crabs, crayfish, snails, termites, ants, and earwigs.
