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© Sedgwick County Zoo, credit: Brent Ward

Grey Monitor

Varanus griseus griseus

*This animal is not on exhibit.

Physical Characteristics

  • These lizards are brownish-yellow with crossbands on the body and tail. The nostrils are near the eye rather than at the tip of the snout.

Diet

  • Wild: small mammals, birds, eggs of birds and reptiles, small reptiles and invertebrates

Behavior

  • Kills prey by seizing and overpowering
  • Burrows in the sand (nostril placement prevents sand from getting in the nostrils)
  • Reproduction
    • probably breeds in the spring after emerging from hibernation
    • lays eggs

Environmental/Global

  • Habitat: harsh desert areas
  • Distribution: the Arabian Desert, Iraq, Syria, Jordan, Lebanon and North Africa
  • Numbers: No estimates of wild populations available
  • Status: Endangered, CITES Appendix I
    • low density populations
    • area Nomads use parts of the monitor in traditional medicines
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