Giant monitor lizard feasts on crabs at Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve

Giant monitor lizard spotted at Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve

One day in September, Mr Prashanta Kumar Mohanty was exploring Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve in hopes of photographing a king cobra.

Instead, the IT professional and hobby photographer spotted a massive monitor lizard digging through the dirt.

Speaking to MS News, Mr Prashanta said this was one of the largest monitor lizards he had ever seen. He estimates the reptile to be more than 1.5m in length.

Pivoting from his original plan, he quickly set up his camera to capture the creature sifting through the mangrove roots during low tide, searching for easy prey.

Mr Prashanta has since shared the footage of the “giant” reptile hunting crabs on Facebook and his Instagram page.

Lizard crushes crabs with powerful jaw

The short video of the ‘feast’ shows the lizard easily grabbing hold of a large crustacean with its mouth. It then used its powerful jaws to crush the crab.

According to Mr Prashanta, the crab was roughly the size of a male teenager’s palm.

The wildlife photographer in his 40s said that the lizard ate three to four smaller crabs before finding the larger one featured in the video.

In one of the images, the crab’s eight legs can be seen dangling out of the lizard’s mouth.

While this is not the first time Mr Prashanta has witnessed a monitor lizard devouring a crab, it was the sheer size of the reptile that caught his attention.

Also read: Photographer spots squirrel devouring bat at S’pore Botanic Gardens, awes wildlife lovers

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Featured image adapted from Prashanta Kumar Mohanty on Facebook.