Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I was diving into wikipedia and when I chanced upon this article something REALLY interesting popped up.

"Tanaji uses a Giant Monitor Lizard to climb up the sheer steep fort wall

Shivaji's general Tanaji Malusare used Shivaji’s famous pet monitor lizard which is locally known as ghorpad named "Yeshwanti" with a rope tied around its shoulder for climbing up the walls of the Sinhagad fort from its steepest and the least guarded side in the dead of a moonless night during the Battle of Sinhagad. Once he had scaled up himself after the giant lizard, up the sheer steep cliff unnoticed, he threw down rope ladders for others to climb. Common Indian Monitor (Varanus bengalensis) found locally in present day Maharashtra is the species of Monitor Lizard said to have been used which is also known as ghorpad in Marathi.

These Monitor lizards are famous for their ability to cling to smooth surfaces, and were traditionally trained for this purpose by herders in the area.

Being cold blooded reptiles monitor lizards can be commonly seen clinging to vertical rock faces and old fort walls and such to warm themselves for becoming active by getting maximum exposure to early morning sun."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tanaji_Malusare

Now, right away I want to say HELL NO, IMPOSSIBLE. What do you guys think?

At the very least, I'd say it's an awesome legend for its creativity.

Interesting story, but 'Giant'? Are they even considered a 'large' monitor. Also, are we to believe this 'giant' bengalensis, was able to hold the weight of a man, or since it was a 'pet' maybe it had been trained to tie the rope to something once it had scaled the wall;?)
Fun reading though