Monitor Lizard Preys on Sand Lizard

Wildlife documentarian and environmental activist Meshal Al-Saif successfully documented an incident in which a desert monitor preyed on a desert lizard in the Al-Salmi desert.

Al-Saif told “Al-Rai” that “the desert monitor is the largest reptile in Kuwait’s desert environment. It is a carnivorous, aggressive creature with a powerful, pointed jaw that contains mild venom glands and saliva rich in bacteria, which help it subdue its prey.”

Al-Saif noted that “the desert monitor actively hunts desert lizards during the hot daytime hours, exploiting its superior speed and ability to burrow into lizard holes. The monitor typically attacks the lizard’s neck or head to immobilize it, overpowering the lizard’s attempts to defend itself with its spiky tail strikes.”

He pointed out that “the desert monitor does not rely solely on rapid pursuit; it also uses its forked tongue, similar to that of a snake, to taste the air and detect chemical scents left by lizards around their burrows. Once it identifies a target, the monitor exploits its exceptional body flexibility and the strength of its claws to invade the narrow lizard burrow, where it traps the prey inside and deprives it of its only defensive advantage: the free use of its spiky tail.”

He added that “the predation process usually ends with the monitor swallowing large portions of the prey, thanks to its highly expandable jaw,” considering that “this predation is part of the balanced natural struggle for survival within desert ecosystems, with both sides representing entirely different poles in behavior and ecology.”