Editorial photo #7279534 Human Interest
Bengal Monitor
The Bengal monitor or common Indian monitor (Varanus bengalensis) is a large lizard that is mainly terrestrial. It is 61-175 cm long. The monitors are carnivorous and non-poisonous. The monitor lizard is protected under Schedule I of Wild Life (Protection) Act but is regularly killed for its meat, blood, and oil as well as a cure for several ailments. An adult Bengal monitor is on grassland behind a jungle at Tehatta, West Bengal; India on 06/04/2020. (Photo by Soumyabrata Roy/NurPhoto)