Quick Take
- A six-foot lizard raiding a convenience store isn't random. There's a specific trigger that drives them indoors. Why they wander indoors →
- Monitor lizards are built for water, which makes their shelf-climbing stunt harder to explain than it looks. Explore their natural habitat →
- Most people assume a monitor lizard near humans means danger, but the reality is far more counterintuitive. See their behavior around humans →
- There's a threshold that turns a typically reclusive monitor lizard aggressive, and most bystanders don't know where it is. Find their aggression threshold →
Lizards come in many different shapes and sizes, and can grow larger than you might think. One example is the Asian water monitor, a type of monitor lizard. The Asian water monitor is the second-largest lizard species in the world, right after the Komodo dragon. This Instagram post from @dailymail shows one of these massive lizards climbing the shelf of a convenience store. Read on to learn more about these lizards and why they love wandering into stores.
Monitor lizards are the second-largest lizard species in the world and can grow to about six feet long!
©Ruben PH/Shutterstock.com
About the Monitor Lizard
Monitor lizards are massive lizards that love the water. Found throughout much of Southeast Asia, including Thailand, Malaysia, and Indonesia, they inhabit rivers, lakes, swamps, or any place with an abundance of water. Because of this, they are amazing swimmers that feed on fish, frogs, and crabs. They eat both aquatic and terrestrial animals. This includes snakes, birds, and rodents. Although they may seem intimidating, monitor lizards are not generally dangerous. For the most part, they avoid humans and may only get aggressive if cornered. Their massive size alone can be quite intimidating. Monitor lizards can grow anywhere between four and six feet long and can weigh up to 110 pounds! The video above shows one of these large lizards climbing up the shelves of a convenience store, and it is quite a sight.
While monitor lizards generally stay away from humans, they may wander into buildings for a few reasons. As seen in the video above, most of the time they are looking for food. These lizards are opportunistic hunters that make the most of what’s around them, including the shelves of convenience stores. Another common reason they enter buildings is to escape the heat, just like humans do. The video above is a shocking sight, as the lizard makes a mess climbing up the shelves. This is not an isolated incident; there are several similar videos circulating on the internet. While it is not a common occurrence in countries like Thailand, most locals are not completely surprised when these lizards enter stores.
