Water Monitor, Bentota River, Sri Lanka

Both land and water monitors are a fairly common sight in many areas of Sri Lanka. I shot this photo of a water monitor on a boat safari along the Bentota river. (It took quite a few attempts to capture the full extent of its impressive tongue!)

I managed to get a fair bit closer to the one in the next picture. It was sitting on the edge of the river bank and appeared to take an interest in our boat.

The scenery along the river is lovely and you see these large lizards in the trees as well as in the water.

There are snakes as well – very difficult to spot for the untrained eye, but the guides running the safaris appear to have no difficulty finding them.

I am always fascinated by the large colonies of fruit bats you come across in Sri Lanka. These had made their home in the trees at the river bank.