I Didn't Know They Climbed Trees!

[John_Betong]

Hi All.

I visited Lumpini today and saw this monster that was ove a metre long, nose to tail!

Clever so & so's not only swim but also cllimb trees!

Amazing Thailand,

John_Betong

[redrus]

Wow, cheers for that fella, didn't even know there were any in Lumpini....

redrus

[stumonster]

yes , goannas climb legs also mate.

you will be in for a nasty infection if those claws scratch you - way worse than any other nail scatches you have had before -

[guardian]

yes , goannas climb legs also mate.

you will be in for a nasty infection if those claws scratch you - way worse than any other nail scatches you have had before -

Worse than you, stuMONSTER? Apt name for an apt topic

[Mossfinn]

Brilliant Pics John,

I used to see this little monster quite a lot when I used to chill out in Lumpini, he/she had a little one a couple of years ago as well.

Never saw it climb though.

Thanks for reminding me of them.

Moss

[farangsay]

Brilliant Pics John,

I used to see this little monster quite a lot when I used to chill out in Lumpini, he/she had a little one a couple of years ago as well.

Never saw it climb though.

Thanks for reminding me of them.

Moss

Moss

This lizard had a baby but you are still unsure of it's gender ?

OK your mother/father never told you (neither did mine) but surely your friends

should have.

[phormio]

I didn't know they were called "goannas" , but about a month ago I was walking in Lumpini over one of those metal grates over the drainage system, looked down, and almost had a heart attack. It was dark but the "monster" lizard I saw down there must have been 2 meters. At first I thought it was a croc.

Do they eat meat?(ie, homo sapiens)

[sbk]

Another term for them is monitor lizard (according to Wiki goanna is an Aussie term).

According to the hubby there are two kinds of monitors: the climbing kind and the swimming kind. Although both kinds can do both, one kind will prefer to climb, the other swim. Not sure if this is just different behaviors from different animals or really a valid different kind.

I have seen them swimming in the ocean near our place (chased off a big rock by my dog). As well as climbing up a coconut and staying there all day (again, escaping my dog).

Lovely creatures but they do look a bit like a miniature crocodile.

[Mossfinn]

Brilliant Pics John,

I used to see this little monster quite a lot when I used to chill out in Lumpini, he/she had a little one a couple of years ago as well.

Never saw it climb though.

Thanks for reminding me of them.

Moss

Moss

This lizard had a baby but you are still unsure of it's gender ?

OK your mother/father never told you (neither did mine) but surely your friends

should have.

I guess my use of the English language gets no better

[Nignoy]

Another term for them is monitor lizard (according to Wiki goanna is an Aussie term).

According to the hubby there are two kinds of monitors: the climbing kind and the swimming kind. Although both kinds can do both, one kind will prefer to climb, the other swim. Not sure if this is just different behaviors from different animals or really a valid different kind.

I have seen them swimming in the ocean near our place (chased off a big rock by my dog). As well as climbing up a coconut and staying there all day (again, escaping my dog).

Lovely creatures but they do look a bit like a miniature crocodile.

All monitors climb and swim,can become quite tame , very good for keeping nasties out of the garden,we have a resident Lace monitor lives in a mulch pile in the yard , keeps the red belly population down, and has been known to catch the odd baby fruitbat,quite a useful and peaceful neighbour if you leave them alone Nignoy

[gburns57au]

Monitors when threatened or scared will go to the highest point around....if that happens to be your head...watch out.....if one runs towards you.....drop to the ground.

[rak sa_ngop]

The monitor lizzard population in Lumphini park seems to be growing quite rapidly. I have seen up to 5 on one visit so undoubtably there are more than that.

There is at least one monster one out there probably 5+ feet tip to tail with a thick girth, much larger than the one in the photo. I have only seen one eating a small fish but I have heard of them eating the turtles as well.

I have also seen one climb into a hole in a treel trunk and slowly during a period of 5 minutes watch as the tail slowly disappeared into the tree trunk completely. Obviously home for that one.

Nice to see how the monitor lizzards are tolerated by the Thais, although I have heard them shout out 'crocodile' in Thai when they see one!

[naka]

Monitors when threatened or scared will go to the highest point around....if that happens to be your head...watch out.....if one runs towards you.....drop to the ground.

That's right, In Aussie if you see a Goanna running towards you ... drop on your face !

Naka.

[kmart]

Thai term for the monitors is "hia". They are supposed to be bad luck in Thai superstition. There are quite a few of them scattered all over Thailand. Not venomous, or big and dangerous like the Komodo Dragons in Indonesia; but the bacteria alone in these beast's mouths can kill you from a bite, apparently.

[t.s]

Thai term for the monitors is "hia". They are supposed to be bad luck in Thai superstition. There are quite a few of them scattered all over Thailand. Not venomous, or big and dangerous like the Komodo Dragons in Indonesia; but the bacteria alone in these beast's mouths can kill you from a bite, apparently.

i had a couple on my property until the construction workers ate them. they did in our python as well

[Gary A]

A friend of mine in Krabi was losing chickens on a regular basis. He finally found this guy in the chicken pen. It won't kill any more of his chickens.

[Richb2004v2]

I was in the ‘Chinese Gardens’ in Singapore recently and saw my first wild monitors. I saw about five in all, but the last one I saw was huge, probably getting on for two meters. I followed it into the bush, but it soon lost me. It was an impressive creature. I am planning on a trip to Lumpini Park to try to see some more, as I have always had an attraction to snakes and lizards.

Nice picture by the way.

[qualtrough]

Thai term for the monitors is "hia". They are supposed to be bad luck in Thai superstition. There are quite a few of them scattered all over Thailand. Not venomous, or big and dangerous like the Komodo Dragons in Indonesia; but the bacteria alone in these beast's mouths can kill you from a bite, apparently.

I just read somewhere that it has been discovered that Komodo dragons actually secrete a poison that is deadly, and that it was not due to bacteria as has been the theory for many years. You can read more about this on Wikipedia at:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Komodo_dragon...nt_developments

Thais by and large fear and hate the 'hia' as noted above. It is a common curse word, although I don't know which came first, the animal or the curse. I suspect the former. My wife refers to them as ตัวเงินตัวทอง which means the silver and gold thing, as hia is too rude for her. We had two small ones appear on subsequent days, but both were killed by our dogs unfortunately. My wife was so freaked out when she saw them she at first convinced herself that they were crocs or some other animal. She just didn't want to accept the fact that these creatures had visited our house-probably the bad luck angle.

[qualtrough]

One more thing. While they are not aggressive, they have razor-sharp claws so you don't want to get in any situation that puts them on the defensive. I used a smooth green bamboo pole to pick up one of the ones our dogs killed. The body slipped around the pole but the claws in one of its lifeless paws gripped the smooth bamboo so tightly that I was able to life the entire body.

[guardian]

Hi All.

I visited Lumpini today and saw this monster that was ove a metre long, nose to tail!

Clever so & so's not only swim but also cllimb trees!

Amazing Thailand,

John_Betong

What time of the day did you capture this monster? Also, the others who have seen them @ Lumpini, do you see them @ the same time of the day or different times?

[Mossfinn]

What time of the day did you capture this monster? Also, the others who have seen them @ Lumpini, do you see them @ the same time of the day or different times?

Generally around 1 to 3.30, 4 pm time.

If you go through the gate opposite Robinsons and go to the lake and take the left turn and walk to about 75 meters before you get to the bridge, they will walk along the concrete edge or go for a dip.

You obviously may need to look above you now, but I have never them in a tree before.

I will be there again this weekend, hope to renew the aquantance

Good luck

Moss

[petedk]

I have been to Lumphini Park several times and have seen Monitor lizards on every occasion. There are obviously more than 4 or 5 there now, probably more like 20.

Just take a look in any of the lakes and I'm sure that in less than 5 minutes you'll spot one swimming around and maybe even climb up onto the banks.

I have seen one of them devour a large fish, taking about 5 minutes to swallow it whole. I've also seen them eat turtles although i'm not sure if the lizard actually killed the turtle or not.

Once I saw a fight between 2 of them (unless it was an elaborate mating dance) where they clung to each other and it looked as if they were actually trying to drown each other. This went on for 20 minutes or more until I got bored and moved on.

I saw one snap out at a cat but I have never seen them attack humans, in fact they are usually quite scared of humans.

Anyway go along and take a look. They are quite interesting to watch.

[kmart]

I just read somewhere that it has been discovered that Komodo dragons actually secrete a poison that is deadly, and that it was not due to bacteria as has been the theory for many years. You can read more about this on Wikipedia at:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Komodo_dragon...nt_developments

Thais by and large fear and hate the 'hia' as noted above. It is a common curse word, although I don't know which came first, the animal or the curse. I suspect the former. My wife refers to them as ตัวเงินตัวทอง which means the silver and gold thing, as hia is too rude for her. We had two small ones appear on subsequent days, but both were killed by our dogs unfortunately. My wife was so freaked out when she saw them she at first convinced herself that they were crocs or some other animal. She just didn't want to accept the fact that these creatures had visited our house-probably the bad luck angle.

Interesting. I once saw a natural history prog about the dragons in Indonesia. It showed two of them hunting and bringing down a large deer. It wasn't a quick death for the poor animal.

The Thais are scared of them as you noted. Provincial politicos and mafiosi (same thing usually) like to put them in each other's back gardens as intimidatory / scare tactics.

[John_Betong]

Hi All.

I visited Lumpini today and saw this monster that was ove a metre long, nose to tail!

Clever so & so's not only swim but also cllimb trees!

Amazing Thailand,

John_Betong

What time of the day did you capture this monster? Also, the others who have seen them @ Lumpini, do you see them @ the same time of the day or different times?

Hi Guardian,

The pictures were taken at 17:00.

I used the Robinsons, Silom entrance, went to the nearest lake then headed out towards the Sathorn, Rama IV entrance. While heading out my friends spied the monster crawling out the lake then up the tree. I had to cross a small bridge to get to the other side of the very narrow lake.

Many thanks to the posters who complemented me on the photos.

If I had known then about the extremely sharp claws and potential problems with being bitten I would not have ventured so close!

Cheers,

John_Betong

[GracelessFawn]

Thai term for the monitors is "hia". They are supposed to be bad luck in Thai superstition. There are quite a few of them scattered all over Thailand. Not venomous, or big and dangerous like the Komodo Dragons in Indonesia; but the bacteria alone in these beast's mouths can kill you from a bite, apparently.

i had a couple on my property until the construction workers ate them. they did in our python as well

Ewwwwwwwww. That is gross!

[Richb2004v2]

I'm surprised they haven’t been captured by locals and either eaten or sold for something.

Maybe it’s lucky for them that they are disliked so much.