Today I want to write about a really big lizard called the Nile monitor.
Here are five interesting facts about them:
- These large lizards grow to over 2 metres long, making them Africa’s largest lizard.
- Nile monitors are excellent hunters and eat almost anything that they can find, using their powerful jaws to catch and eat a wide range of prey, including small mammals, birds, reptiles, frogs and crocodile eggs.
- They are excellent swimmers and when threatened, they prefer to run to water and hide under the surface, where they can hold their breath for up to an hour. However, if they feel trapped, they will attack using their powerful tail, sharp teeth and long claws to defend themselves.
- At breeding time, they lay up to 60 eggs in a termite mound or burrow in the ground. The eggs take about six months to hatch.
- Nile monitors are very common and live in a wide range of habitats near water throughout Africa.
I hope that you found these facts interesting and learned something new.
Are there any other interesting facts that you would like to share about Nile monitors?