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Open
Daily
9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
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Black Tree Monitor |
| Scientific Name: |
Varanus beccarii |
| Range: |
Aru Islands off the coasts of New Guinea |
| Habitat: |
Forests, swamps, and mangroves |
| Natural Diet: |
Snails, grasshoppers, beetles, scorpions, bird eggs,
fish, other lizards, snakes, birds, and shrews |
| Zoo Diet: |
Mice and crickets |
Physical
Characteristics: |
Adults are black; young are lighter shades of green.
They have long, sharp claws and strong jaws. Their teeth are long which
helps them hold on to prey. They are about three feet long; two-thirds
of their body length is tail. |
| Behavior: |
Black tree monitors spend most of their days in the
treetops or swamps, looking for food. When they are threatened, they
inflate their neck and hiss at the predator. Sometimes its ribs spread
out a little, helping to inflate its body. This makes it appear larger
to its enemy. Black tree monitors are also quick and agile and can climb
trees easily to escape predators. |
| Reproduction: |
A female lays 7-35 soft-shelled eggs. The young will
hatch in eight to ten weeks, using an egg tooth to tear open the egg. |
| Notes: |
Monitors have excellent eyesight. They can sense
movement as far as 275 yards away. Similar to snakes, their tongues give
them a very good sense of smell. This special sense allows them to find
food, a mate, or an enemy. |
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