Reptile

Bengal monitor

Varanus bengalensis

हिन्दी: पाटा गोह, गोह

IUCN: Least Concern

Bengal monitor walking across bare ground

Scientific name: Varanus bengalensis
Hindi name: पाटा गोह, गोह
Family: Varanidae, order Squamata
Group: Reptile
Conservation status: Least Concern
Length: Up to about 1.75 m with the tail

A big, harmless lizard that cleans up the fields.

Spot it Long, heavy lizard, olive-grey to brown, with a long neck and a flattened tail.
Home Farmland, scrub, forest and old buildings.
Food web Eats insects, snails, eggs, rodents and carrion.
Why it matters Controls rats and insects on farms; hunting it is illegal.

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