"Water monitor": a scavenger for environment
Created By RISC | 3 years ago
Last modified date : 1 year ago
What’s your first thought when you hear the words "water monitor"?
Tua Ngern Tua Thong or “silver-and-gold animal" is how this lizard is generally known in Thailand. Its official name in Thai is "Hia". Its scientific name is Varanus Salvator. Despite its scary appearance, it is a peaceful creature and rarely harms people.
Water monitors help maintain ecosystems and clean our cities. As scavengers, they eat carrion and food waste, removing unpleasant odors and infection sources and keeping water clean. They also feed on pests like rats and pigeons and eat the eggs of poisonous snakes as well as preying on chickens, cats, and birds.
Water monitors are high in the food chain and reflect healthy ecosystems. Today they often live outside forests or rivers, seeking out food in human environments where they can come into conflict with us.
But shouldn’t we learn to understand them and appreciate their contribution to ecosystems so we can live sustainably together?
Author/Editor: Thanawat Jinjaruk, Senior Researcher, RISC