Mighty lizards

I had heard about them, they seemed like something from a fairy story. An island on which lived lizards that were so huge and had such appetites that they could eat humans. I remember being told of an elevated walk way that had been built so that visitors (human) to the island could walk in safety above the reach of the lizards and look down on them and admire them. Woe betide anyone who fell off the walkway and did not clamber back before being spotted by these huge reptiles.

The lizard is real, It is known as the Komodo Dragon and I saw one on my visit to Australia Zoo.

My photograph is not really very good, the dragon was half in half out of the shade and so large I couldn't get it all in anyway. A thick glass shield separated the public from the reptile and yet allowed perfect viewing of it. The head is larger than the head of my dog, a curly coat retriever which will give you some idea of its size. What an ugly creature it is! But fascinating - in a scary way!

You can't but help respect a creature that considers itself above humans in the food chain!

Australia, too, has large lizards - and hundreds of varieties of smaller ones. The lace monitor, which is one of the goannas is one that often visits picnic sites in the bush and is rather partial to barbecued sausages, They are about a metre long and although are allowed to come reasonably close it is not wise to put fingers near its mouth. All goanna eat carrion so there would be many nasty germs on their teeth so getting bitten by one would not be a good idea.

When I asked what the goanna was - in this next picture, the Australia Zoo fellow who was chatting to us said it was a "perrenti". I am not sure if that is a common name for this goanna but I tried looking it up and found a picture similar to it with the spots running in rings around the body like on this one and it was called a Kimberley Rock Monitor. If you have any other suggestions to the name I would appreciate your input.

One time, on a visit to Central Australia I took a photo of a large black goanna sunning itself on a rock and was told that it was a black perrenti. So "perrenti" could just be a common name used instead of "goanna".

Lizards, to me, are a link with the dinasaur past. There is a similarity among many of them to the mighty lizards that roamed the earth before the mammals took over.

AJ