Bengal Monitor Lizard

Bengal Monitor Lizard (Varanus bengalensis) also known as Common Indian Monitor, is a monitor lizard in the family Varanidae, found in South Asia. This large lizard is mainly terrestrial and grows to about 175 cm from the tip of the snout to the end of the tail. It feeds on arthropods, frogs, lizards, snakes, birds and eggs etc. Although large monitors have few predators apart from humans who hunt them for meat, skin or fats to extract oil, which is used in folk medicine, juvenile have many predators. It lives in agricultural land and forests, however can also be found in human population, where it spends most of the time in cracks and gapes of walls. They run very fast and.can climb trees and walls and are good swimmers. I think it would be more suitable to name it "Desk Monitor Lizard", as I found it in a desk at the school. In Urdu it is called Goa.

Juvenile Bengal Monitor Lizard (Varanus bengalensis)

Special thanks to Mr Nausherwan Ahmed of Wild Life of Pakistan, who helped me in identification of the species.