African small-grain lizard, Water leguaan, River leguaan
The Nile monitor (Varanus niloticus) is a large member of the monitor family (Varanidae) found throughout most of Sub-Saharan Africa and along the Nile. It is one of the largest lizards in the world reaching and even surpassing the perentie by size. The Nile monitor is also the second-largest reptile in the Nile River.
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DiurnalDiurnal animals are active during the daytime, with a period of sleeping or other inactivity at night. The timing of activity by an animal depends ...
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CarnivoreA carnivore meaning 'meat eater' is an organism that derives its energy and nutrient requirements from a diet consisting mainly or exclusively of a...
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ScavengerScavengers are animals that consume dead organisms that have died from causes other than predation or have been killed by other predators. While sc...
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SemiaquaticSemiaquatic animals are those that are primarily or partly terrestrial but that spend a large amount of time swimming or otherwise occupied in wate...
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PrecocialPrecocial species are those in which the young are relatively mature and mobile from the moment of birth or hatching. Precocial species are normall...
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BurrowingA burrow is a hole or tunnel excavated into the ground by an animal to create a space suitable for habitation, temporary refuge, or as a byproduct ...
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FossorialA fossorial animal is one adapted to digging which lives primarily but not solely, underground. Some examples are badgers, naked mole-rats, clams, ...
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NatatorialNatatorial animals are those adapted for swimming. Some fish use their pectoral fins as the primary means of locomotion, sometimes termed labriform...
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NomadicNomadic animals regularly move to and from the same areas within a well-defined range. Most animals travel in groups in search of better territorie...
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ScansorialScansorial animals are those that are adapted to or specialized for climbing. Many animals climb not only in tress but also in other habitats, such...
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OviparousOviparous animals are female animals that lay their eggs, with little or no other embryonic development within the mother. This is the reproductive...
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PredatorPredators are animals that kill and eat other organisms, their prey. Predators may actively search for or pursue prey or wait for it, often conceal...
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PolygynandryPolygynandry is a mating system in which both males and females have multiple mating partners during a breeding season.
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Generally solitaryGenerally solitary animals are those animals that spend their time separately but will gather at foraging areas or sleep in the same location or sh...
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HibernatingHibernation is a state of minimal activity and metabolic depression undergone by some animal species. Hibernation is a seasonal heterothermy charac...
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starts withNile monitors have muscular bodies, strong legs, and powerful jaws. Their teeth are sharp and pointed in juvenile animals and become blunt and peg-like in adults. They also possess sharp claws used for climbing, digging, defense, or tearing at their prey. Like all monitors, they have forked tongues, with highly developed olfactory properties. The Nile monitor has quite striking, but variable, skin patterns, as they are greyish-brown above with greenish-yellow barring on the tail and large, greenish-yellow rosette-like spots on their backs with a blackish tiny spot in the middle. Their throats and undersides are an ochre-yellow to a creamy-yellow, often with faint barring. Their nostrils are placed high on their snouts, indicating these animals are very well adapted for an aquatic lifestyle.
Nile monitors are native to Sub-Saharan Africa and along the Nile. These lizards are often found in aquatic habitats. They prefer to live in woodlands, savannas, scrub, mangroves, marshes, and swamps and also visit agricultural areas.
Nile monitors are generally solitary and only sometimes may interact with other monitors outside of the breeding season. They are active during the day and spend their time foraging or basking on the shoreline vegetation, trees, logs, or rocks. They are often seen in or close to water. At night they sleep on tree branches, in burrows which they dig themselves or submerged in water. Nile monitors are highly aquatic and can remain underwater for 12-15 minutes. They are also excellent climbers and quick runners on land. In the colder parts of their range, Nile monitors hibernate, usually in burrows or in rock cracks. When they sense any danger they tend to run away or may even jump into the water from the tree branch. When threatened juvenile monitors will tail whip as a defensive measure, and as adults, they are capable of inflicting moderate to serious wounds from biting and scratching.
Nile monitors are carnivores and scavengers. They feed on fish, snails, frogs, crocodile eggs, and young, snakes, birds, small mammals, insects, and carrion.
Nile monitors are polygynandrous (promiscuous) meaning that both males and females mate with multiple partners. Their breeding season occurs from June until October. During this time males compete with each other for mating opportunities. Females lay up to 60 eggs, usually in termite burrows, and mounds or may dig a hole in the ground. The incubation period may last up to 6-9 months depending on the environmental conditions. After hatching, baby monitors must dig their way out of the nest and may need to wait for the rain to soften the nest, or the mother may return to her nest to help. After hatchlings emerge, they are completely independent and don't require parental care. They will become reproductively mature at 3 to 4 years of age.
Pet trade and hunting are probably the main threats that face Nile monitors. These lizards are heavily hunted for food and leather. In some areas, local people kill Nile monitors to obtain fat from specific organs for traditional medicine.
According to IUCN Red List, the Nile monitor is common throughout its range but no overall population estimate is available. Currently, this species is classified as Least Concern (LC) on the IUCN Red List and its numbers today are stable.
Nile monitors are very important predators and scavengers in their ecosystem controlling populations of various prey species they prey on. They also feed on crocodile eggs and thus may control crocodile numbers.
