We have normally sighted Monitor Lizards on the forest floor in the Indian wilderness and always thought that one would sight them only on the ground. During one of our safaris into the Yala National Park in Sri Lanka, our naturalist spotted a Monitor Lizard sleeping on a high branch of a tree. I was particularly curious to know how the naturalist spotted the Lizard since it was perfectly camouflaged. That’s when he explained that it is a common behavior of this species. Thereafter, we made it a point to look out for Monitor Lizards apart from Leopards, while scanning the canopy.
On another safari on the same trip to Yala, Noel parked the Land cruiser in the shade of the trees next to a waterhole, hoping to see some action. We remembered the Monitor Lizard sighting the other day and turned our attention to the trees instead of the waterhole. And to our luck, we saw a big Lizard perched on the branch of a tree right next to the Land Cruiser. It was so beautifully camouflaged that unless one was looking for it, you could not spot it. It was noon time and the lighting wasn’t particularly great but the camouflage was so perfect that we wanted to capture the experience and managed a few images despite the harsh light.
