THE HINDU (Chennai, India) 27 September 06 Mysore zoo receives two male water monitor lizards
Mysore: The Sri Chamarajendra Zoological Gardens has received two more guests during the Dasara festivities. After the arrival of a pair of jaguars from the National Zoological Park, New Delhi, recently, the zoo has received two male water monitor lizards from the Madras Crocodile Bank, Chennai.
The two new water monitor lizards will join three others already housed in the Mysore zoo. The new guests have been released into the reptile enclosure.
A release said the water monitor lizard was the largest among Indian monitor lizards that reached a length of 2.5 metres. While a large male measures 2.35 metres and weighs around 14 kg, the female measures about 1.80 metres and weighs around eight kg.
In India, the water monitor lizards are found in Orissa, Bengal, Assam, Meghalaya, Nagaland, besides a few regions in Bangladesh.
They are at home in fresh as well as salt water.
All monitor lizards are endangered by the trade in reptile skins and have been listed in Schedule 1 of the Wildlife Preservation Act of 1972.
Mysore zoo receives two male water monitor lizards