A monitor lizard spots a crocodile mother looking after her babies. The lizard waits for the exact moment the crocodile lets her guard down and steals a tiny baby croc!
“We had noticed a female crocodile with eggs near the Vurhami bridge. We would regularly stop on the bridge during drives and watch her protect her clutch of eggs. It was a clear sight from the bridge, so it was easy for us to monitor her eggs every day.”
“One particular day, I noticed a water monitor lurking nearby. The water monitor seemed to know about the eggs. But luck was on the side of the mother, as she managed to return in time and chase the water monitor away. It was a moment of relief for us, and I’m sure for the crocodile as well.”
“Every day I would enter the park anxious to check on the crocodile nest’s progress. To my delight, I found eggshells scattered around, evidence of a successful hatching. The mother had managed to protect most of her eggs until birth.”
“However, when I returned to the bridge a few days later, a sense of longing filled the air. The female crocodile was in the water going under every now and again, the monitor lizard, on the other hand watching her closely! The lizard waited for the exact moment the crocodile was out of sight and stole a little, tiny baby croc!”
Lizard runs off with a baby crocodile after escaping it’s mom!
Monitor lizards are the biggest lizards in South Africa, and they are experts at surviving in a country with 264 different lizard species. You can find them all over, from the Kruger National Park, where Tree Agamas live, to the Drakensberg Mountains, where the Crag Lizard roams. Despite the competition, monitor lizards thrive because they are adaptable and can live in various habitats.
