A nearly three-feet-long Monitor Lizard was rescued by the Wildlife SOS Rapid Response Unit from a plastic manufacturing factory in Okhla Industrial Area, Phase I. The reptile was kept under observation for a few hours and later released back into the wild.
Sumit Singh, an employee of the company said, “Our employees discovered the monitor lizard in the storage unit which is in the factory basement.We immediately called Wildlife SOS after comingacross the Wildlife SOS helpline number online and immediatelycalled them for help.”
“A few employees were in the storage unit when they heard a scuffling noise coming from behind a stack of boxes. On taking a closer look, they were surprised to find the monitor lizard peering back at them!,” Singh said further.
A team of two trained rescuers from the NGO was immediately deployed to carry out the rescue operation. Taking care not to harm or startle it, the teamcarefully extricated the nearly 3-foot-longreptile and transferred it into a safe transport container.
Wasim Akram, Deputy Director-Special Projects, Wildlife SOS, said, “Many reptile species end up getting displaced in the rainand are forced to seek shelter in higher ground. Monitor lizards are non-venomous but can bite or even use their strong claws in retaliation if threatened or provoked. Therefore, our team had to be cautious while carrying out the rescue operation as they wanted to avoid agitating the distressed reptile.”
Common Indian Monitor Lizard (Varanusbengalensis) or Bengal monitor Lizard is commonly found in the Indian subcontinent. They inhabit scrubs, parks, jungles and mainly feed on small mammals, birds, rodents, insects etc. This species is listed under Schedule I of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972. Monitor lizards play an important role in the ecosystem but they are often killed for their meat and body parts due to misconstrued beliefs.