STOMPer Quian Jin was walking in Chinese Garden and saw this huge water monitor lizard crawling out of the pond.
The contributor says:
"I was walking in Chinese Garden and I saw this very huge lizard slowly crawling out of the pond.
"It is so huge, about one metre long and looks like a crocodile!"
Related post: Poor giant lizard trapped by callous hunters (13th January 2009)
Related post: Cute lizard makes Siloso waterfall its Everest (30th January 2009)
The Malayan water monitor (Varanus salvator) certainly counts as one of our charismatic megafauna. It's one of the world's largest extant lizard species, after its close relative the Komodo dragon (Varanus komodoensis). It's an adaptable species, and is able to survive alongside humans. Whenever one of these giants makes an appearance, people are sure to take notice. And although there is a lot of misinformation regarding this animal, I am happy that the person who submitted this post knew that it was a monitor lizard, and did not call it an iguana or Komodo dragon.
I have seen Malayan water monitors at Chinese Garden on a few occasions, but honestly speaking, an individual a metre long is nothing compared to some of the giants I've seen in Sungei Buloh.
