jen jitsu's video: lizards on vacation @ club med

Spotted a monitor lizard hanging out near the resort lounge @ Club Med Cherating, Malaysia. Seemed a bit shy and didnt want to have his picture taken. :-) Some info about Malaysian monitor lizards: Malaysian monitor lizards are typically large with slender and forked tongue which is sensitive and serves as location guides to hunt for preys and food. The Bengal or Clouded Monitor Lizard (Varanus bengalensis) can sometimes be seen moving slowly on land and even on tree trunks as they search for beetles, other insects and nestling birds and eggs. It is not uncommon to see them lying on a branch up a tree that is 20-30 feet high. The Water Monitor Lizards (Varanus salvator) are usually found near watered areas, and are also great swimmers, often seen swimming in the streams, rivers and lakes, in search of prey. Monitor lizards use the hollows of trees as home or nest although they usually make holes at river-banks or on high-level grounds. Although they are shy of humans, they sometimes look and forage for food near homes especially in the rural areas, where chickens and ducks are reared in the backyard, their eggs being a favorite food for these lizards. They may look slow and bulky, but monitor lizards are actually agile and swift when they need to, especially when going after their preys, or when running away from people.