What is a perentie?
The perentie is the largest species of monitor lizard, or goanna, in Australia. Perentie lizards live in desert areas and can grow up to 2.5 metres long.
If you see a perentie in the wild, you don’t forget about it in a hurry.
Australia is home to some big reptiles that deserve serious respect. Saltwater crocodiles can and do kill. They’re best seen on a crocodile cruise in the likes of the Kakadu National Park. Australia is also home to some of the most dangerous snakes on earth.
But the perentie stuns with its prehistoric-looking weirdness. The perentie is the largest species of monitor lizard in Australia. Several species of monitor lizards, often called goannas, live in Australia, although they also live in Asia and Africa.
How big are perenties?
It doesn’t get as big as the Komodo dragons found in Indonesia, but the perentie still grows up to 2.5 metres long.
The average adult perentie is about 1.7 metres to two metres long, and weighs up to 15kg. They’re fairly lean by monitor lizard standards. But if you’re a smaller lizard or small mammal, then you don’t want to stick around – perenties are carnivorous and not especially fussy.
Are perenties carnivorous?
Perenties are sometimes carnivorous, too. They also eat smaller members of their own species. But given where they live, they can’t afford to be too picky. Perenties live in the outback regions of Australia, in the desert areas of Western Australia, the Northern Territory, South Australia and Queensland.
They tend to hang out in gorges, or on rocky outcrops. Given the remote areas perenties inhabit, it’s unusual for humans to encounter perenties. But even if you do see one, it’s unlikely to attack you. Perenties are pretty shy and not interested in picking fights they might not win.
Are goannas venomous?
Even so, you don’t want to get bitten by one. Scientists are divided on whether perenties are venomous. Heavy bleeding caused by goanna bites might be due to bacteria, but could be the result of relatively weak venom, too. There just aren’t enough such bites to give clear evidence either way.
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