Durban – Nick Evans said he receives a number of calls every year regarding Nile monitor lizards, which have been attacked by dogs and not one has ever survived.
Evans said monitor lizards and dogs don’t mix well together.
Describing last week’s incident, Evans said he received a call from a man in the Clare Estate area, who had a monitor lizard on his property.
He said after the man reported that the dog attacked the lizard, he rushed over.
“I arrived to a surprising although worrying sight. A Nile monitor was stuck up a small tree, with a Pitbull standing guard. Fortunately, the homeowner was standing guard too. His dog knew not to do anything else once her owner was there. The situation was relatively under control. Can’t say I wasn’t nervous.”
Evans said he grabbed the monitor, saw some blood and quickly got it in a box.
“The homeowner mentioned he could have got a lot of money for it from a traditional healer, but he and his son watched my show, and he knew it was illegal, and better that it was saved. He stopped his dog from killing it.”
Evans added that it was also illegal to eat Nile monitor lizards.
“Killing these lizards or keeping them as pets is against the law. It's a top protected species,” he pointed out.
Evans rushed the lizard to the South African Association for Marine Biological Research (SAAMBR) veterinary team at Dangerous Creatures at the uShaka Village Walk.
“Fortunately the lizard only had one puncture wound, a small one. Miraculous, as it was not a small dog that attacked it. It was given painkillers, antibiotics etc, and given a safe space to rest and recover.”
Evans said the lizard made a full recovery
“It has since been released in a dog-free environment, where it can fulfil its role as one of the apex predators in our river systems.”