Very common water monitor lizard found in Indonesia.
Quite intimidating when you see them swimming in your pool.
They are strong and powerful with long claws and sharp teeth.
Our dogs got restless and ready to attack.
The entrance – a dug hole by the wall, hidden under bushes connecting to the outside sewer.
The swimming pool.
One afternoon as I was sitting in front of the computer in our house in Bali, I heard a loud noise and water splashed. It startled me as something had fallen into the swimming pool at the back of the house. My sister and my wife were preparing something in the kitchen ran out. Our 2 dogs jumped from their nap, started barking, and ran towards the door to our backyard. We all ran towards the back door, and as soon as we opened the door, the dogs dashed to the swimming pool. We saw a big water monitor lizard swimming at the bottom of our pool.
Water Monitor lizards are medium-sized and large lizards found in hot and tropical climates. The largest and most famous type of monitor lizard is the Komodo dragon (Varanus Komodoensis), whose length can exceed 3 meters.
The monitor lizard often found in villages and urban areas in Indonesia is the water monitor lizard of the Varanus Salvator species. Body length (snout to the tip of tail) is generally only about 1 meter, although some can reach 2.5 meters.
This incident has happened a few times this year, but this time was the biggest one we saw. As the lizard climbed out of the pool, our dogs came running to approach and barked intensely. They got restless and looked ready to attack. The lizard started to make hizzing noise and swung its tail left and right. Luckily the lizard jumped back into the pool so we could grab the dogs and bring them inside before things got out of control. We locked the dogs in, opened the side door to the garage, and opened the main door hoping the lizard would leave. We all went back in and left the lizard alone hoping it would leave thru the garage.
Fifteen minutes later, we went out to check the lizard's whereabouts, and apparently, it had disappeared. We thought it had found its way back to wherever it came from. Two days later, the pool guy who usually comes once a week to clean and treat our pool found a big dug hole in the bush behind the pool. So it seemed the hole was connected to the sewer on the other side of the wall. It had been used by lizards, rodents, and other small animals to enter our house.
Monitor Lizards have long claws, sharp teeth, and powerful tails. They will not attack unless provoked or cornered and are rarely aggressive towards humans. So that was a brief story about our encounter with a water lizard. Have you encountered one before?
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ABOUT ME
A baby boomer who's trying to embrace and adapt to the new digital world. Before retiring, he worked for over 30 years in the IT industry. Now running an online vegetable delivery and hydroponics equipment supplies business with his wife based in Jakarta, Indonesia. Enjoy traveling, cooking, writing, and IT-related stuff. You're always welcome to leave a comment or feedback, and an upvote or reblog is also greatly appreciated.
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