Home / Environment / Bangkok's Lizards: Smart Survivors in Urban Jungle
Bangkok's Lizards: Smart Survivors in Urban Jungle
2 Mar
Summary
- Bangkok's monitor lizards are highly intelligent reptiles.
- Their population thrives due to abundant food from park visitors.
- Relocation efforts in 2016 failed to significantly reduce their numbers.
Monitor lizards have become a notable presence in Bangkok, thriving in urban green spaces like Lumphini Park and the city's canals.
These intelligent reptiles, estimated to number in the thousands across the city, benefit from a dense food supply, largely due to park visitors feeding fish, which in turn supports the lizards.
An attempt in 2016 to relocate some lizards from Lumphini Park proved unsuccessful. Experts noted the relocation was not aligned with the lizards' breeding cycle and removed key predators, inadvertently aiding the remaining population's survival.
While not dangerous to humans, these Asian water monitors are powerful animals deserving of respect. They are known for their intelligence, with documented abilities to count and map territories, making them a unique wildlife encounter.
Bangkok offers rare opportunities for close observation of these creatures, which are typically shy and elusive in the wild. Visitors are encouraged to admire them from a distance, avoiding any physical contact.
These resilient urban dwellers, observed to be neither fearsome nor tame, represent survival perfected over millions of years, coexisting within the bustling city environment.
