Philippine Water Monitor
The Philippine Water Monitor (Varanus marmoratus),also known as the Marbled water Monitor, is a Philippine endemic monitor lizard and is locally known as "Bayawak"..
They can only be found in the islands of Luzon (northern and central only), Batanes, Babuyan and Lubang..
As the name implies, they prefers to live in humid areas close to a body of water such as rivers and streams..
They feed on fish, frogs, rodents, birds, crabs, and snakes.. I also saw one swallowing an egg..
I really love reptiles and I am always happy whenever I see one in the wild..
We were so lucky to have such a close encounter with this huge fellow.. It was crossing the road at Caylabne during our birding sortie.. We were so fortunate that it paused for a while at the edge of the road before dropping down to a steep ravine..
IUCN currently listed this species as Least Concern but if the destruction of their habitat continues and people continue to eat them, we might see a decline in their population..😔
They are currently protected by the Republic Act No. 9147 otherwise known as the Wildlife Resources Conservation and Protection Act but we see a lot of people posting their "kill" online.. 😔😡ðŸ˜
I hope a day will come that we'll here a news that a person was apprehended because of his or her crime against nature..
Please don't kill and eat our wildlife.. It is against the law.. They also help prevent the spread of viruses and bacterias by preying on rats and other pests..
