Blue Tongued Skink (pet lizard) seen on my travels

 

Photo by Angela Lansbury. Copyright.

I had not planned to see a lizard the size of my hand, or the size of a human lizard, on my holiday overseas. The blue tongued skink, like a lizard, was in a friend's house. I was staying there for two nights. No escape. Australians and New Zealanders call the creatures blueys. 

You never know what you will see travelling to visit a friend. People I have known for years.

The lizard is kept in what looks like an acquarium with a sliding glass door.

This creature is fairy sleepy during the day. Unlike the geckos we had on the walls indoors and outdoors, in Singapore, which, after a rest, watching you, would suddenly race off.

Greek Geckos

I recall the tiny ones on Greek islands at hotels with remote bedrooms. I was scared shocked, when the little things leaped off the wall onto my bedding or pillow, disappeared under bed clothes. Another alarmed me when it jumped out of a shoe under the bed, then disappeared behind or into another shoe.

Other guests and hotel management could not understand why I was alarmed. They attempted to assure me, 'They are harmless.'

How To Use NLP To Conquer Fear

Having studies NLP (neuro linguistic programming), I know to talk to the creature, indirectly to my own brain, telling it, 'Don't worry, the big lady human won't hurt you.'

However, the little lizards are reminders of larger ones.

Komodo Dragons

Komodo dragons, (don't let predictive text turn then into kimono dragons) are much larger, are another thing. Tourists are taken to see them, on Komodo Island, in Indonesia. They are reptiles, monitor lizards.

My host saw them on a tour with a guide, from about ten feet away. 'You don't wander around on your own.'

Whilst a small blue tongued skink might be held in the hand of its owner, Komodo dragons, like crocodiles and alligators, are unfriendly more like monsters. I was going to call them unpredictable, but as any paranoid tourist can tell you, their nastiness is predictable. 

You might see a Komodo dragon from a more safe place, in a zoo, in the UK, USA, Singapore or elsewhere. Check your national zoos and those of the countries you are visiting.

A blue tongued skink, however, makes its trusting owner happy.

Wikipedia informed me that these short legged creatures are slow and friendly. The pets are nicknamed the dogs of reptiles.

Useful Websites

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue-tongued_skink

https://www.quora.com/What-do-Mediterranean-geckos-eat-Can-you-keep-them-as-a-pet?top_ans=214911130

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Where to See The World's Best Dragons - with one breathing fire! In Asia, England and Poland; Komodo Dragons In Zoos and Your Personalised Dragon Book!

Dragon breathing fire in Krakov, Poland

 What's the nearest real thing to a dragon? A Monitor lizard, in Indonesia, or the Botanical Gardens in Singapore? A Komodo dragon in Indonesia and some zoos?

A dinosaur, which no longer exists, is popular amongst children, adults, in museums and monster movies (we say films in the UK).

Dragons don't even exist yet they are popular worldwide. Why? Maybe we like to have mythical monsters we can overcome. 

Overcoming Fear Of The Large Monster

I recall visiting London's home of the Duke of Wellington, which has a giant statue of Napoleon in the hall. The Duke of Wellington had a huge statue of Napoleon made, so that when he met the real Napoleon (a tiny man with a big ego - had to prove himself by winning battles) Wellington could then say to himself, he is much smaller than I imagined.

So, let's look at Dragons.

This post was inspired by my new friend Izabel, who lives in Warsaw, Poland, and she reminded me about the dragon in Krakov. I had been to Krakov, passed the dragon, been told about it on a tour, read about it in the literature, and, frankly, had not taken much notice of it. I was more interested in real people in Krakov, such as Schindler, and Helena Rubinstein, the founder of the beauty business, than a mere mythical creature.

However, dragons are such a permanent feature of crests, shields, flags, statues, landmarks, all around us, that it is worth taking a second look at the world's dragons, because, although they are not my first day out priority, they seem to fascinate everybody else. 

Here are the dragons I have found, for convenience, in alphabetical order by country.

CHINA

Dragons were symbols of the Ming dynasty.

ENGLAND

Saint George and the Dragon. the flag of England is the red cross of St George on white. You will see this at football matches in which the England team is competing. 

London Zoo (whose website says they are closed until Dec 3rd 2020, because of Covid-19) has the komodo dragon in pride of place at the top of their website. 

Komodo dragon in Chester Zoo, shown in Wikipedia.

The name St George appears in many places. For example, St George's Shopping Centre in Harrow,  has a frieze of St George way up overhead, inside the three storey building with a series of panels telling the story of St George. The dragon apparently captured a princess. The dragon ate princesses for lunch. Luckily George rescued her, as shown in several panels. 

GERMANY

George slaying the dragon. Wooden sculpture made in about 1500, displayed in Gottorf Castle in Schleswig-Holstein in Germany. Photo by Szilas in Wikipedia.

INDONESIA

The Indonesian Islands of Komodo were at one time offering tours to see Komodo dragons, also known as Komodo monitors. They have a long thin tongue. 

I've seen a horrid video of them in a gang circling an animal. They injected venom into the animal and waited for it to fall down.

At one time you could take tours to the Komodo islands, specifically to see the dragons. They used to guarantee that you would get close up to a Komodo dragon. Funny, that. I would have paid them to guarantee not to take me near a dragon. 

I think at one time the tours were stopped, then started again.

A great holiday. For those who love living dangerously. If covid-19 doesn't get you, or your pets, the dragons might.

POLAND

Dragon on a good day, not breathing fire, in Krakov, Poland.

RUSSIA

George slaying the dragon is on the roof of a shopping mall near the Kremlin.

SINGAPORE

My husband recalls seeing a komodo dragon on his many trips with visitors to the Night Safari.

I asked, "Did you like seeing the komodo dragons?"

He replied,  "I'm not sure that like is the right word. They were very interesting. You wouldn't want to be the wrong side of a metal fence."

WALES

The red dragon is the symbol of Wales, on the Welsh flag.

USA

St George and the Dragon. Alabaster Sculpture. Washington. USA.

San Diego Zoo komodo dragon in Wikipedia.

Wiki reports that in 'May 2009, there were 35 North American, 13 European, one Singaporean, two African, and two Australian institutions which housed captive Komodo dragons'.

Apparently these nasty creatures are very popular with people, no doubt some nasty people and some nice people as well. 

Toy Dragons

Finally, if you want your own dragon, Amazon, plus online toyshops and your local toyshop when Covid-19 lets them open, can offer many dragons for you and children in the family. You can find small ones from dragons on your fingers, to playmats with dragons. Playmobil has dragons, and there are other small plastic dragons, as well as large soft dragons to cuddle. 

Plus of course, books about misunderstood, friendly dragons.

Useful Websites

UK

https://www.zsl.org/zsl-london-zoo/exhibits/komodo-dragons

http://piquantphotos.blogspot.com/2010/02/photo-essay-saint-george-and-dragon.html

https://www.straitstimes.com/lifestyle/venture-into-a-realm-of-dragons-and-beasts-in-singapore-zoo

About the Author Of This Post, Angela

Angela Lansbury, travel researcher/writer and photographer, author and speaker. 

Author of Wedding Speeches & Posts, Etiquette for Every Occasion, Quick Quotations, Who Said What When?

You can contact Angela through Facebook, LinkedIn, and Braddell Heights Advanced Toastmasters on Facebook or Toastmasters Interntional.com find a club . Angela is a member of four Toastmasters Clubs and BHA IPP, Immediate Past President, and VP PR (Vice President Public Relations) for 20202-2021

Please share links to your favourite posts in

travelwithangelalansbury.blogspot.com

dressofthedayAngela.blogspot.com

Which Animals Are Unique to Asia? Anteaters, Komodo dragons, monitor lizards and pangolins. Where can you see them?

You can see monitor lizards in zoos such as the Washington DC zoo, and London zoo, in England. More alarmingly, you can meet and monitor monitors in the wild in Singapore.

I stick to protected places like the Sheraton Towers hotel where you do not encounter monitor lizards. Most of the wildlife which I encounter turns up cunningly concealed in batter on my plate. However, my jogging family have encountered all sorts of creatures, in Singapore (as well as Malaysia and Indonesia) whilst roaming around remote paths, as I shall explain further on in this post.

Monitor Lizards
In Singapore you can see monitor lizards roaming freely in places such as the Botanical Gardens. Signboards joyfully alert you to the presence of the alarming lizards as if seeing them is a twee treat.

I am glad to say I have never encountered a monitor lizard, despite visiting the Botanical Gardens many times. I do monitor my surroundings carefully for monitor lizards, photo opportunities, dangers, and escape routes.

Komodo Dragons
To me, a monitor lizard looks like a small komodo dragon (found on the island of Komodo in Indonesia. You can also see a Komodo dragon in London zoo, in England. A cross between a blown up lizard and a shrunken dinosaur. Twice the size of any member of your family and far more unpleasant than even your worst relative.

How can I remember to link Komodo and Indonesia (not Malaysia). The letter o which appears twice in Komodo and once in Indonesia.

Photo by Mark Dumont of a Komodo dragon in the Cincinnati Zoo, USA in 2013. Photo in Flickr uploaded to Wikimedia article on Komodo dragon.

The komodo dragon is dangerous. To humans and animals. A very nasty creature.

Monitor Lizards?
Monitor lizards aren't always friendly, either.

 My husband took a video of what he thought was a very angry monitor lizard the other side of the perimeter fence around a Singapore army base. My husband was walking along a path when the monitor lizard appeared. It did not run away but ran ahead and when he caught up alongside it, the creature was fearsome and furious, hissing and waving its tongue around and thrashing its big body about.

So much for the idea that they are shy creatures and only get aggressive when cornered. Maybe it was territorial, maybe it was protecting babies nearby. We will never know.

Photo by Trevor Sharot, photographer. Copyright.

Blow up the picture and you can see the black tongue. This is a screen capture still taken form a video. I've also seen some horrid videos of komodo dragons circling an animal, biting it with poison, waiting a day or two, surrounding it, until it drops to its knees and they launch in for the kill and eat it.

Free look at wildlife
Entry to the Botanical Gardens is free. But no guarantee what you will see. You are more likely to see fish and birds. I am glad to say.

Photo by Piekfrosch in the German wiki and copied into an article in the English wikipedia on Pangolins.

Pangolins
This month, March 2019, Singapore Zoo and Night Safari are promoting care of pangolins. I saw an advertising poster beside a bus stop.

Poster about pangolins. Photo by Angela Lansbury. Copyright.

Next day I received an email inviting me to the zoo. Children are encouraged to do a series of activities and pledge to protect pangolins and at the end are rewarded with a pangolin pin.

Pangolins, covered in scales from head to toe, curl up into a ball for protection. Their name means roller in Malay.

The pangolin, altogether friendly, has no teeth. On the other hand, it has an enormously long tongue. the tongue is used for scooping out ants. The pangolin eats thousands of ants every year. If you are not a fan of ants, you might give pangolins credit for disposing of ants.

Now, there's a clue. I looked up anteater. I recognize the pangolin as an anteater.

Pangolin activities (must book)
March 2-March 31, 2019, weekends only.

Useful Websites
https://www.nparks.gov.sg/gardens-parks-and-nature/dos-and-donts/animal-advisories/monitor-lizards
singaporeair.com
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/make-a-date-with-pangolins
https://www.wrs.com.sg/en/conservation/together-for-wildlife

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anteater

togetherforwildlife.sg

Botanical Gardens:
https://www.nparks.gov.sg/SBG

Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker. Please share links to your favourite posts.

Trevor Sharot Photo of Monitor Lizard And Its Long Tongue In Singapore

Photos by Trevor Sharot, copyright.

Problem
How do you get up close to a monitor lizard? How dangerous is it?

Answers
I was sitting across the table from William in Singapore and I told him about the monitor Lizard which Trevor Sharot saw in Singapore.

Monitor Lizards In the Botanic Gardens

My new friend, William, was phlegmatic, unconcerned. He said:

"I saw monitor lizards in the Botanic Gardens."

"In a cage?"

" No, just lying around enjoying the sun."

"Aren't they dangerous?"

"Not if you keep your distance. But you wouldn't want to get too close."

"But Trevor saw one the other side of a wall with tennis netting.  The lizard was growling and striking its tail."

"Maybe it was protecting its eggs."

"How many did you see in the Botanic Gardens? Two?"

"About ten."

"Ten! I'd have left if I saw even one. I won't be going to the Botanic Gardens again."

Trevor Sharot's Video of Monitor Lizard
I asked Trevor Sharot to send me a still from his video. In the video you can see the lizard thrashing its tail against the wall.

Monitor Lizard's Tongue
Then it puts out its tongue. It wasn't until we freeze-framed the video to select a suitable still (showing the head not obscured by the wall or netting) that we realised how long the tongue is. It looks like a flexible pencil or piece of bamboo. The tongue strikes so fast! It's out and visible in one frame but gone in the next.

If you want to see a monitor lizard, go to a zoo, or Singapore's Botanic Gardens.

Useful Websites:
https://www.nparks.gov.sg/gardens-parks-and-nature/singapore-botanic-gardens
http://www.visitsingapore.com/en/

Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker.