Lovely lizards

A friend came to get me today, to show me a monitor lizard hovering around the canteen where we eat lunch. The lizard was separated from us by a set of bars, which may be responsible for his sense of security; he let us get the best close-up look of a monitor I have had to date.

I do not have my camera with me today, but it made me think that I should share a couple photos taken earlier this year, of a few monitor lizards I saw in Katavi National Park.

This lizard climbed out of the water and onto a log as we were driving by. He posed perfectly for this profile shot and scaly close-ups.

This monitor was peeking out of a tree as we drove by. Can you spot it?

I affectionately call this photo "Dinosaurs in love." In truth, these late-Jurassic gems seemed more akin to the early animation of Godzilla than the agile creatures of Spielberg's Jurassic films. It was humorous watching them dance, with herky-jerky claymation movements: lean-on-left-foot, lean-on-right-foot, open-jaws, breathe-fire (well, almost).

With nothing on the immediate horizon to give away the scale, this scene seemed - at least through my camera lens - like watching giant dinosaurs dance in the distance.