varanusaurus: "they simply remain anonymously-invaded termite mounds to everyone else. I am telling you that is not conclusive evidence of anything, and until those photos include someone tearing it open and pulling out lacie eggs, it will remain evidence of nothing."



I'm going to assume you missed this post and the photos within:

forums.kingsnake.com/view.php?id=1965756,1965867



But even if you have and are still adamant the other holes I showed were anonymous invasions and the resemblance to known lace monitor nests is only coincidental, I'm going to ask you a question. This is your chance to prove me wrong and solve a riddle at the same time:



Name the mysterious Australian animal with the following physical and behavioural traits, based on the evidence it leaves behind.



1. We know it makes holes in termite mounds. The holes are too small and round to be made by an echidna and are also usually too high up on the mound. Echidna holes are quite distinctive a they are wide, flattish and at ground level. They're also very shallow - don't need to go far into a termite mound to start eating termites. Kookaburras nest in arboreal termite mounds, not ground mounds (that I know of) but these holes are not found at the same time of year that the kookaburras nest, anyway.



2. The holes come in two sizes. The larger of the two sizes has a diameter that's roughly (by wild coincidence) the size of a female lace monitor. The smaller holes are roughly (again, a wild coincidence) the size of a female heath monitor.



3. The holes appear at only certain times of the year. The larger holes appear in spring, at exactly the same time (another wild coincidence!) female lace monitors are starting their cycles. The larger holes start appearing again at exactly the time (amazing coincidence!) female lace monitors start laying eggs. The larger holes do not appear before or after those two time periods. The smaller holes occur a bit later than the larger holes, coincidentally at exactly the same time heath monitors lay eggs. My friends have found gravid lace monitors making holes and I have found gravid heath monitors making holes (in the very same mounds and often at the very same spot I've seen the mysterious holes before) in the times of the year that lace monitors and heath monitors lay eggs. Maybe they eat the mysterious hole-making animals? I can't wait until you tell me what the mysterious animals are so I know what these monitors are doing! I guess they must expect more of the mysterious hole making animals to appear, because the females hang around for a while and then take off, never to be seen again until the following year at the same time.



4. The mysterious hole-making animals not only have claws just like a monitor (the tell-tale traces of which are often all around the hole), but they have similar feet, because sometimes there are footprints around the mound.



5. The mysterious hole-making animals are affected by climate. Too much rain and/or cold and the holes appear later than usual. Lots of sun and heat and the holes appear a bit earlier than usual.



Oh, I'm so excited. I can't WAIT to find out that I've inadvertently discovered an entirely new species of animal in Australia!



Seriously, I don't mean to be insulting.



I said I was only going to ask one question, but I confess I have a second: Have you ever spent any time observing lace monitors in the wild?

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