THE MISUNDERSTOOD MONITOR

A golden monitor was spotted at Khulna's Dumuria upazila recently. Native to South Asian countries like India, Pakistan, Nepal and Bangladesh, this lizard generally prefers wet areas, on the edge of forests, or near human settlements and agricultural land.

Almost all species of monitor lizards are scavengers and are important for biomass decomposition and recycling. They even have a playful side as they've been observed alternating between swimming and floating.

Despite playing a significant role in the balance of the ecosystem and being quite harmless, the golden or yellow monitor lizard is now endangered because of human activities – direct killing as they are considered "terrifying pests" due to lack of awareness, deforestation, destruction of habitat, and animal skin trade.

Every August 14, World Lizard Day is observed to raise awareness of the importance of lizards for the environment and the need for their conservation.