The causeway that crosses the Sand River is always a hive of activity. It is essential to take a slow drive across and spend more than a few minutes scanning around to see what is playing out in all directions.
A hippo cow and her young calf wading through the shallow stream upstream from the causeway.
We had been marvelling over a pod of hippo that were quite disturbed by the presence of a large bull in their vicinity when tracker Bennet Mathonsi drew our attention to a boulder just left of us. No more than two metres from us was a young water (nile) monitor lizard with a rather large meal in its jaws. It had managed to catch a freshwater crab.
The monitor lizard holding its prey tightly in its jaws.
We noticed that the crab was still moving its legs, with which the lizard would thrash the crab from side to side. Much the same way a bird tries to soften insect prey before swallowing it, the lizard was attempting to break through the hard shell. If one takes a look at the front left side of the crab’s carapace, there is a large crack from where the lizard must have initially grabbed the crab. With large pincers, crabs are very adept at holding their own against predators. For those that have seen crabs in rock pools along the coast, whenever they are threatened they will turn to face you with pincers at the ready. The lizard must have worked this out quickly, managing to flip the crab over to avoid the powerful pincers.
The monitor lizard turned side on to us, showing its wide gape and the grip it had on the crab.
Water monitor lizards normally feed on aquatic insects, small fish, rodents and have been known to raid crocodiles nests, devouring a large portion of their eggs. They are lightning quick with sharp claws and a powerful bite, making them formidable predators. With a dorso-ventrally flattened tail, they are excellent swimmers and may take to the water to escape potential threats. Interestingly, they fall within the same genus (Varanus) as the infamous Komodo dragons. Recent studies have revealed that Varanus species in fact have small venom glands, which were previously thought to have occurred only in snakes and one small group of lizards known as Beaded Lizards. The presence of venom is thought to aid in digestion more so than in the killing of prey as in snakes. With their powerful bite and well developed claws, one can see that the venom may not really be of too much use!
We found ourselves so enthralled by the lizard that before we knew it, we had spent well over 20 minutes observing the reptile attempting to eat its meal. The next day, the monitor was on the same rock, full-bellied basking in the sun…
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Amazi g sighting. The causeway is one of my favourite places to stop. Always something interesting happening there.
Pete, I loved the video🤗
Interesting blog, thank you Pete
Isn’t it amazing that even small creatures can capture our attention, just the same as watching wild dogs on the chase. This is why I love observing all that nature gives us. Thank you for this interesting blog.
Such a neat sighting and a nice change from the typical sightings (why I also love, of course).
What an interesting encounter. I think it’s great that one can observe such a large number of water animals from your causeway. It really is a hive of activity and one also watch so many birds! A great video.
Oh wow Pete, you grabbed some great shots of that! Poor crab – circle of life round and round we go. I am always mesmerized by what I see at the causeway!
So interesting Pete. So nice to spend time with the smaller yet so important species that make up the whole. Really enjoyed your blog 🙏❤️
Thanks Pete, remarkable footage and very interesting. The causeway is definitely one of my favourite places too.
Wow Pete! So fascinating!!
Great pics and story! It would be so wonderful to sit on a rock near the river, and just enjoy all the activities going on around you by creatures great and small! Pure bliss!
Great find Pete! Video, although brief, was awesome. Also incredible was finding the lizard similarly situated again the next day.
Now that’s a bizarre sighting!!