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Reptiles
Nile monitor
Nile monitor · Varanus niloticus
Powerful hunter from the water: the Nile monitor is Africa’s largest lizard and shows impressive survival skills along riverbanks.
Fact file
- Size
- Usually reaches a total length of 120 to 200 cm, with a weight between 5 and 15 kg
- Males and females
- Males are often slightly larger and more robust, but difficult to distinguish by appearance
- Sounds
- Hisses when threatened, otherwise mostly silent
- Diet
- Eats fish, crabs, insects, eggs, birds, small mammals and carrion
- Offspring
- Lays 20 to 60 eggs, usually in abandoned termite mounds; after around 6 to 9 months the young hatch
How to identify Nile monitor
The Nile monitor is one of the largest lizards in Africa. Its powerful, elongated body often reaches up to two metres in length, with roughly half of that accounted for by the muscular tail. The upper side is olive brown to dark grey and covered with numerous yellowish spots or stripes, which are particularly pronounced in young animals.
The head is long and narrow with a pointed snout, and the tongue is bright blue and deeply forked. Striking features are the strong limbs with long claws, ideal for climbing and digging. The underside is lighter and mostly uniform in colour. In adult Nile monitors the patterns may fade somewhat, but together with their size they remain a distinctive hallmark.
More in the app
With Wildful Stories+ you also get in the app:
- general viewing tips
Where Nile monitor live
Discover Nile monitor on your trip.
The app shows you where and when to see wildlife along your route.
