Further confirmation that Varanus tristis survives in King's Park, metropolitan Western Australia

Varanus tristis (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black-headed_monitor) is a large, predaceous, semi-arboreal lizard.

Its ecological nature is such that it can serve as something of an 'indicator species' of the 'ecological health' of ecosystems.

Please see http://www.zo.utexas.edu/faculty/pianka/varanus.html.

King's Park, in metropolitan Western Australia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kings_Park,_Western_Australia), is unusually large for a nature reserve central to a city of two million persons.

Its vegetation, consisting mainly of woodland of eucalypts, casuarinas, and banksias, has been progressively degraded despite efforts to conserve the ecosystem. This has been mainly owing to invasion of the lower stratum by herbaceous plants introduced from South Africa.

It seems likely that, as this degradation proceeds, Varanus tristis will eventually disappear from King's Park.

However, I can confirm that it is still present today, 15 October 2022.

I clearly observed an adult specimen, at a distance of two metres, as it crossed a 30 m-wide strip of treeless lawn at midday in sunny weather.

This strip of lawn extends from the 'DNA Tower' (https://www.bgpa.wa.gov.au/kings-park/events/walks-and-tours/dna-tower-climb) down to Lovekin Drive (https://www.google.com.au/maps/place/Lovekin+Dr,+Kings+Park+WA+6005/data=!4m2!3m1!1s0x2a32a4de8ef184f1:0x7e4c6a63226ab69e?sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjG0-GIkOL6AhWURmwGHZ0UBocQ8gF6BAgIEAE).

The specimen was typically dark over its whole body. The tail was missing its terminal ?10 cm, with the partial amputation having healed over.

There was no opportunity to take a photo, but I am confident of the identification. This my second sighting of this species, in King's Park, in the last three years.

I note that there have been several recent sightings by other observers, in the same area:

https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/69494140

https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/84044624

https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/69859484

Also see https://inaturalist.nz/check_lists/4309939-Kings-Park--Perth--WA-Check-List.

Posted on October 15, 2022 04:10 AM by milewski