There is a certain stillness that settles along the Sand River during the dry months. The chorus of frogs grows quieter, the lush greenery thins, and pools of water begin to shrink into pockets of life scattered between sandy stretches. Yet, if you sit patiently at these shrinking waterholes, a shadowy figure often emerges, the water monitor, slipping silently between land and water, a reptile built perfectly for this liminal world.
A Reptile Often Overlooked
In a reserve where leopards steal the spotlight and elephants dominate the landscape, it is easy to overlook a reptile hugging the riverbank. Water monitors don’t announce themselves with trumpeting calls or dramatic hunts. Instead, they move with a low, sinuous grace, tongues flicking to taste the air, as if pulling secrets from the breeze.
But these seemingly modest reptiles are formidable predators. They feed on an astonishing variety of prey: fish darting near the water’s edge, frogs, crabs, bird chicks, and even the eggs of ground-nesting birds or crocodiles. Their diet makes them one of the most important “clean-up crews” of the bush, removing carrion and controlling populations of smaller creatures that thrive in and around water.
A sighting of a water monitor is often brief—just a ripple in the shallows as it vanishes beneath the surface, or the flicker of movement on a fallen log. They are semi-aquatic specialists, equally at home sliding through reeds as they are basking on a sun-warmed sandbank.
Drier Times, Different Tactics
As the landscape transitions into the dry season, the habits of water monitors shift. With pools receding and fish numbers dwindling, these reptiles become even more opportunistic. Shrinking pans concentrate life, drawing in birds, amphibians, and small mammals, and with them comes opportunity for the water monitor.
It is during this time that their role as scavengers becomes particularly important. A stranded fish in a drying pool, a bird chick that tumbles from a nest, even carrion left by a predator, nothing goes to waste when a water monitor is nearby. The scarcity of resources sharpens their instincts, and they become more visible to those of us fortunate enough to spend hours along the river’s edge.
Patience and Persistence
Watching a water monitor hunt is a lesson in patience. Unlike a leopard’s explosive pounce or a wild dog’s frenzied chase, the monitor relies on persistence. It will nose through reeds, dig with sharp claws into sandy banks, or probe holes in search of eggs. It is not dramatic, but it is relentless—and more often than not, successful.
For guides, these sightings are a chance to draw attention to the quieter dramas of the bush, to remind guests that the African wilderness is not only about apex predators but about the intricate web of smaller hunters that keep ecosystems balanced.
A Seasonal Appreciation
As we move deeper into the dry season, the Sand River becomes a lifeline for countless species. Crocodiles and hippos dominate the deep pools, elephants dig for water in the sandy beds, and along the edges, water monitors prowl quietly, often unnoticed.
The next time I sit with guests beside a shrinking pan or a quiet stretch of river, I’ll be watching closely for that flickering tongue or a ripple breaking the surface. For while they may not command the attention of a roaring lion or a striding giraffe, water monitors embody another truth of Londolozi: that even in the stillness, there is always life, always a hunter, always a story unfolding at the edge of the water.
Thanks for this blog on Water Monitors, Dean. They are fascinating animals which I could watch for hours. The claws which allow them to climb even steep and smooth rocks, the tongues that find every prey, a really prime example of natures fascinating ways.
Dean: While I thrill in the activities of the big 5, and love the interactions of the ugly 5, it’s the OGs (other guys) who especially engage me. Be they birds, insects, invertebrates . . . there’s always something interesting that’s going on. Thank you for this feature.
They look smaller than monitors in other areas?
Hi Dean, the water monitor is relentless and eats the eggs of the birds and even climb in the roofs of the houses. There they prey on the bush babies and once back down on the ground they prey on the Natal spur fool’s chick’s. We live on a reserve and we see how they survive. I don’t know who actually eats a water monitor or who preys on a water monitor.
Hello, I think crocodile are natural predators of such lizards, as they often live in the same environment. And large birds of prey. But Dean will answer you better. And what about leopards, whose diet is renowned to be extremely various, fish and lizards Included?
It’s absolutely true Dean that watching a water monitor forage is fascinating. I’ve seen one triumphantly catch and devour a snail-like creature whilst crawling through the reeds at the edge of the river. Still glistening from the wetness of the grasses, we marveled at the intricate patterns of its skin. Later on, our tracker the. Next you’ll have to talk about the rock monitors – also fascinating!
Hi Dean, I love all sorts of lizards. They are very useful in the food chain and recycle, and have beautiful colours and elegant moves. They are so different from mammals and this makes them fascinating- a different world to observe closer. I just disregard the habit of many people that buy lizards, snakes, spiders and so on, the more exotic they are the best, to keep them in captivity. This must be stopped, most of all by educational courses for the young and heavy fines for the adults. Otherwise they will be destroying habitats. Sadly, the illegal or illuminated commercial trade of plants, like aloe, is unknown or is kept low under the radar. Hopefully things will change…