Ornate Nile Monitor

Description:

Nile Monitors can grow to about 9 ft (2.7 m) in length. They have muscular bodies, strong legs and powerful jaws. The teeth are sharp and pointed in juvenile animals and become blunt and peg-like in adults. They also possess sharp claws used for climbing, digging, defense, or tearing at their prey. Like all monitors they have a forked tongue, with highly developed olfactory properties.

Habitat:

Nile monitors are native to Africa and the species is distributed throughout the entire central and southern regions of the continent, including Sudan and a portion of central Egypt along the Nile river.They are not found in any of the desert regions of Africa, however, as they are excellent swimmers and thrive around rivers.

Notes:

Spotted at the "Congo Gorilla Forest" of the Bronx Zoo.