Threat: Very deadly

Venom/Toxin: none

Description: Savannah monitors are stoutly built, with relatively short limbs and toes, and skulls and dentition adapted to feed on hard-shelled prey. They are robust creatures, with powerful limbs for digging, powerful jaws and blunt, peglike teeth. The skin coloration pattern varies according to the local habitat substrate. The body scales are large, usually less than 100 scales around midbody, a partly laterally compressed tail with a double dorsal ridge and nostrils equidistant from the eyes and the tip of the snout.

Tags: monitor lizards

Length: up to 1.8m

Weight: up to 70 kg

Lifespan: 8 – 13 yrs

The savannah monitor is a solitary animal. Males are extremely territorial. Upon encountering another male they will first take a threatening posture then begin fighting viciously, often leaving severe bite wounds. Monitors practice 'open pursuit' hunting instead of stalking and ambushing. They are very fast despite their massive size because of their powerful leg muscles. Monitors swallow their food whole or in large pieces; they are able to dislocate their thyroid bone in order to enlarge their throat.

The savannah monitor is a carnivorous animal. Their diet is much more restricted than that of other African monitor lizards, consisting mainly of snails, millipedes, orthopterans, beetles and other invertebrates.

In March - May, a female savannah monitor breaks into a live termite mound to lay 40 or more eggs. The termites repair the damage, leaving the eggs to incubate in warm, humid conditions. They hatch with the following spring rains, when the softened soil allows the hatchlings to break out. When they hatch, baby lizards resemble tiny versions of their parents.

Trend: decreasing

The savannah monitor lives in grasslands and savannahs in eastern and southern Africa.

This subspecies a popular pet. The eating of Water Lizard or Water Monitor (Hopan in Silozi is common among some Lozi people of Western province of Zambia. While the eating of water lizard is common in other ethnic groups as well such as the Sengas, Tumbukas and Ngonis, it is more pronounced among the lozi people, especially those found in the rural parts of the country. Savannah monitors are often found in the pet trade despite their highly aggressive demeanor and resistance to taming. They have also been hunted for traditional medicine purposes.