Varanus indicus
Silhouette: Steven Traver · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~90% in a week >90%
The mangrove monitor, mangrove goanna, or Western Pacific monitor lizard (Varanus indicus) is a member of the monitor lizard family with a large distribution from northern Australia and New Guinea to the Moluccas and Solomon Islands. It grows to lengths of 3.5 to 4 ft (1.1 to 1.2 m). It is also known as wbl yb in the Kalam language of Papua New Guinea.
The mangrove monitor was first described by the French herpetologist François Marie Daudin in 1802. Daudin's original holotype of a subadult specimen was collected on Ambon, Indonesia, and has since disappeared from the museum in Paris. Daudin's original name for the species was Tupinambis indicus, an appellation it would carry for 100 years until being renamed as a Varanus.
The generic name Varanus is derived from the Arabic word waral (ورل), which translates to English as "monitor". Its specific name, indicus, is Latin for the country of India, but in this instance it relates to Indonesia or the East Indies, where the animal was first described.
Due to its large geographic range, V. indicus is considered a cryptic species complex of at least four species: Varanus indicus, Varanus doreanus, Varanus spinulosus, and Varanus... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Raja Ampat | 🇮🇩 Indonesia |
More parks will be added in future updates.
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dublin Zoo | 🇮🇪 Ireland | |
| 2 | Beijing Wildlife Park | 🇨🇳 China | |
| 3 | Chongqing Zoo | 🇨🇳 China | |
| 4 | Zoo Opole | 🇵🇱 Poland | |
| 5 | Plock Zoo | 🇵🇱 Poland | |
| 6 | Ménagerie du Jardin des Plantes | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 7 | Alligator Adventure | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 8 | Cairns Aquarium | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 9 | Acuario Inbursa | 🇲🇽 Mexico | |
| 10 | Dolphinarium in Odesa | 🇺🇦 Ukraine |
Likely
About 50% of wildlife watchers report a Mangrove Monitor sighting in Raja Ampat on a given day, based on 89 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 2nd most-seen of the 33 reptiles we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 90%, and over a week to over 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
May
In that month about 80% of wildlife watchers report a Mangrove Monitor in Raja Ampat on a given day, against about 20% in December, the lowest month.
Between midnight and 3 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Mangrove Monitor sightings with a recorded time, and about 8 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Only Raja Ampat, in our data
Raja Ampat is the only park on Wallace's Line with enough records to rate Mangrove Monitor sightings: about 50% of wildlife watchers there report one on a given day.
Same genus: Varanus
The closest relatives of the Mangrove Monitor that you can see in Raja Ampat (genus Varanus, Monitor Lizards) are Blue-spotted Tree Monitor (about 30%), Peach-throated Monitor (about 20%) and Emerald Monitor (about 20%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Mangrove Monitor is recorded against all the reptiles logged in Raja Ampat (89 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
