Goannas on morning news

[Fuscus]

The day break program on channel 7 had a couple of goannas (V. varius on this morning, a beautiful hatching and a sub adult. However, the "expert" kept calling the "common goannas" and called them very dangerous at least three times.
I normally like seeing reptiles on TV but this show just annoyed me.

 

[Slateman]

Mabe he was bitten by one LOL

 

[marc]

Varnus varius are slao called tree gaonnas or common goannas depending where you live up here we call them lacies short for lace monitors, they can be dangerous in curtain situations like when my idiot freind came around with a gift and boody great lacie in the boot of his car, anyway it had found its way behind some panels so I had to get it out, i unscrewed the panels and put my fingers around to pull the panels off and the 6 foot plus lizard latched onto my hand, so it was a matter of waiting for him to let go, about ten mins later he did and the firts thing I did was grab its tail and swung it out of the car, second thing I did was decked my mate and third thing i did is went to the doctors.

 

[sxereturn]

I'd rather play with a Taipan than one of those things. I know a guy who has scars from his shins to his chest after he tried to capture one that was running at him. It ran straight up and over him, and they have 2"+ long claws...

 

[wattso]

Its a natural instinct, in times of threat/fear/danger, they run straight up the nearest tree, even if the "tree" is a person!~ lol

 

[Belinda]

I am not going to judge Lacies by the one I know...On our acreage we have about 30 acres of bush and there is a fully grown lacie that often visit the stables....Tame as can be, wouldnt hurt a fly ( well not literally...) It is tame enough to touch but I havent been brave enough to do that yet...

 

[sxereturn]

We have one in the bush about a kilometre from here. He's a big boy, about 5-6 foot long. Has his own tree, the whole thing has claw marks up it. I don't know how long he'll be there for, the bush is getting smaller and smaller the more they develop it.

If anyone in Brisbane cares, he's at Collingwood Park. I can show someone if they want, he's only about 100 metres into the bush along a 4wd track. Might have to do a catch and release soon if the clearing keeps going on...

 

[saikrett]

down in victoria we caught a lacy, probably 1.5m all up. He calmed down after about 5 mins.

 

[Slateman]

I imagin that different animal can have different temperament to. Depends on envirament they grow up in.
Some of them are use to people and some of them in the wild are not.
I just think that the one which are use to mpeople do not have that much feer and I would not like to see young child to aproach them.

 

[Belinda]

I would not like to see young child to aproach them.

Lol...If you are talking about me, When I first saw it I climbed a tree ( i soon later found out that that wasnt the wisest thing to do) Anyway... have encountered it many Time, I just looked at me as I passed and then went back to sunning itself..Its quite freindly and yit will walk infront of you no problems...

 

[Tommo]

if you see one running towards you no matter how small it is in a area with no trees RUN!!!!!!!!!! they have a habbit of climbing up people when their scarred

 

[Belinda]

Yeah...Or climb a tree which isnt the wisest of things, but hey.

 

[insectovor]

I love catching lacies or any other related species, I did end up with badly scratched hands and arms one day........

 

[lutzd]

I understand their wanting to climb anything tall to escape (even a person). But what if the person was to lie down? Would it attack? [pardon my ignorance! Just curious]

 

[wattso]

Was just gonna say that if you squat down, prehaps you minimise the risk of getting run over.
Dont see why they would "attack" as such, given they almost certainly would not consider you "prey" or threat [if you remain still] You are not giving off pheromones of receptive female or another male, i would think a large unidentifiable "thing"[to the goanna] that is not seen as threatening, or a tree or either of aformentioned, would not be any more interesting than a rock. not sure about the fact that you are warm tho, do goannas have ability to sense heat to aid finding food? [they will eat carrion, ive read] or is it just smell? forked tongue right? dont know if you would smell like food. i imagine carrion has a certain odor caused by the process of decomposition that they would recognise?
sorry to go indepth, this is how i think, i want to know why, how etc, just knowingis not good enough to me. lol Fuscus, where are you mate, I need you.

 

[Fuscus]

I have to clarify the point about lace monitors. The guy on TV repeated three times that the animals were very dangerous. While I admit they are a powerful and well equipped animals, they lack the personality of a truly dangerous animal. I have encountered thousands of these animals (they are really common in southeast QLD) and only had trouble with two.
The first was this animal here
( http://150.101.58.70/thumbnails.php?id=Goanna_Lace_Monitor_Goanna&num=10 ), he looks like a bells intergrade) and the problem was entirely my fault. He turned up at camp and I made the mistake of throwing some ham at him. This was wolfed down and the lizard immediately went looking for more ham or ham like objects, i.e. my bare feet. He was kept at bay with a camera stand until I put my boots back on, after which he settled down and just hung around (Hint : NEVER feed a wild lace monitor).

The second problem was this animal here
( http://150.101.58.70/thumbnails.php?id=Goanna_Lace_Monitor_Goanna&num=07 ). He was having a bad day, having just been released from a fox trap for the second time then I can up and stuck a camera in his face. He did a non-serious snap at me, a semi-serious tail swipe then took up the threat pose shown. He just wanted to be left alone.

All other animals I have encountered have been harmless. Most will try and queitly climb a tree, but if the animals are used to humans they will just ignore us. At Charlie Moreland park back of the Sunshine coast about 20 hang around the camp sites. You literally have to step over the animals.

I think the running up a person is a myth, in the unlikely event that a panicking goanna would mistake a person for a tree, it would instantly realize its mistake as trees don't react or scream at first touch. Does anyone know of anyone being climbed by a goanna ?

And Wattso, they do eat carrion. I seen one having a meal of BBQed blue-tongue and another dragging road kill into the bushes.

And as for pheromones, have a look at this photo here ( http://150.101.58.70/thumbnails.php?id=Goanna_Lace_Monitor_Goanna&num=06 ). That was that male?s lucky day. There was a much bigger male who was sniffing around but wouldn't come near the girl while I was there, despite the girl's obvious attractiveness. This gave the smaller male a chance to make it with that sheila.

Anyhow, the point I am trying to make is that as long as you leave a lace monitor alone it is not a dangerous animal to the average human.

 

[Slateman]

There you go.
Do not feed them finges. Not in wild.

 

[wattso]

Thanks fuscus, very interesting stuff, looking at pics 3 & 6 looks like great camoflage too.
Do they have heat sensing gear? forked tongue right or wrong?

 

[Fuscus]

I don't think goannas (or any lizard) have heat sensors like some pythons, but I could be wrong. They lack the labial pits. The forked tongue is used for smell (moves air over the Jacobson organ?).
And the bit about the BBQed blue-tongue, I was walking through a recently burnt area (still smoldering) when I encountered the lace monitor with his freshly cooked meal. Fires are devastating for some animals but an opportunity for others. This lizard had moved into the burnt area looking for a char-grilled meal.

 

[sxereturn]

Fuscus - I know a guy with about 12 1cm long scars up his body, from just above his knees to his chest. He's not a herper, but was trying to steer a Lacey away from the road and back into the bush...