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.