This is a Nile Monitor Lizard.
He is impressive, with his circular markings. He is about 75cm long. We get lots of lizards and geckos in Africa, but I had never seen a monitor lizard before coming to South Sudan.
Unfortunately. our South Sudanese neighbours who live on the other side of the wall keep trying to kill him. As soon as he appears on our wall, I feel my stress levels rise. I dread the moment when our neighbours realise he is there and start poking him and then trying to beat him with long sticks that they brandish wildly above the wall level.
Earlier today, there were two monitor lizards on our wall, but suddenly, the sticks appeared from the other side. One of the lizards was knocked down into the neighbour's compound. I imagine that was the last we will ever see of him :-(
I ran outside, shouting, "STOP!" but it was too late.
It can be uncomfortable for me, living next door to a culture which can seem so cruel to animals. I asked Grace why the neighbours are so intent on hurting the monitor lizards. She replied that locals eat them ("they are like chicken", she said) or they sell them to foreigners, who apparently buy them to make them into medicine or for their skin.
Still, it is sad to witness cruelty to these fascinating creatures...
O at firstI thought it was a crocodile. It' no worse than eating the animals we eat I suppose except they are killed more humanely nana xxxxx m
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