On my first walk through Lumphini Park in Bangkok, I was dazzled by its beauty. Bright green grass and a beautiful blue pond and … a dinosaur? A dragon? No! A water monitor lizard!
This creature looks like a giant lizard. It’s almost big enough to look like a small alligator or Komodo dragon (the world's largest lizard)!
I felt scared when I saw it for the first time! I had never seen an animal like this outside of a zoo before, so it surprised me to see so many at the park.
Water monitor lizards live all over South and Southeast Asia. This includes Thailand and many other countries, like Indonesia and southern China, too. Just like their name says, they like to live by and “monitor” (or carefully watch) the water.
Water monitors use the water in their environment to escape predators, or animals trying to eat them. They also use the water in their environment to find food to eat, like fish and snakes.
