Absolutely amazing Lace Monitor footage

[infernalis]

So they don't lay eggs in termite mounds???

DIWgAC3pHaM

[SpOoKy]

Awwww, I wanna cry they are so darn cute!!!

[Gungirl]

Wow.. That was a very interesting video

[infernalis]

Awwww, I wanna cry they are so darn cute!!!

Yeh, but then they grow up into mini Komodo Dragons...

[alessia55]

Wow!! :eek:

[SpOoKy]

Yeh, but then they grow up into mini Komodo Dragons...

Even cuter!!! lol

[Bradyloach]

Wow so intresting

[UwabamiReptiles]

Thats a cool video Wayne, didn't know they would lay eggs in a termite mound.

[infernalis]

Thats a cool video Wayne, didn't know they would lay eggs in a termite mound.


Read this....

http://www.ssnakess.com/forums/varanid/90155-few-photographs-my-critters-part-1-a.html

[UwabamiReptiles]

Read this....

http://www.ssnakess.com/forums/varanid/90155-few-photographs-my-critters-part-1-a.html


How the deuce did I miss that awesome thread!

[KORBIN5895]

So that's what unicorns look like!!!!!

[Mikey T]

I always thought unicorns had a horn on their head

[BarelyBreathing]

I always thought unicorns had a horn on their head

As you can plainly see by this video, the females do not have horns. :D

[*Don't Mind Me*]

I've seen this before, it is from Life in Cold Blood: Dragons of the Dry.
I loved this series and this clip is truly amazing and so darn cute!:)

[red ink]

I've seen this before, it is from Life in Cold Blood: Dragons of the Dry.
I loved this series and this clip is truly amazing and so darn cute!:)

I'm pretty sure Docs animals were used in the LCB series

[infernalis]

BBC - Science & Nature - Life in Cold Blood (http://www.bbc.co.uk/sn/tvradio/programmes/lifeincoldblood/)

[crocdoc]

Yes, Red Ink, you're right. I helped out with the filming of that sequence as there were a number of things that would have been near impossible to capture on film in the wild.

[infernalis]

Folks, I would like to take a minute to recommend that you pick up the "Life in cold blood" DVD set, it's well worth it.

I just learned so much about lizards I can't wait to watch the rest of the series.

[mattchibi]

Holy crap that was awesome. I wonder how they got the camera inside the termite mound???

[millertime89]

The BBC is generally a fantastic network.

[millertime89]

Also, I WANT ONE!

[crocdoc]

Holy crap that was awesome. I wonder how they got the camera inside the termite mound???
I could tell you, but then I'd have to kill you ;)

[Will0W783]

Wow, those lace monitors are beautiful! It's amazing that they lay their eggs in termite mounds, and then go back to release them....have scientists figured out if the mothers usually go to release their babies, or if that was just a fluke coincidence?

[infernalis]

Wow, those lace monitors are beautiful! It's amazing that they lay their eggs in termite mounds, and then go back to release them....have scientists figured out if the mothers usually go to release their babies, or if that was just a fluke coincidence?

If you read this thread here.. the man to ask helped out with the filming of the sequence, and has been tracking the local lace monitors around him for 12+ years...:D

http://www.ssnakess.com/forums/varanid/90155-few-photographs-my-critters-part-1-a.html

[youngster]

I own Life in Cold Blood. It's great, I watch it every couple weeks :D


Yes, Red Ink, you're right. I helped out with the filming of that sequence as there were a number of things that would have been near impossible to capture on film in the wild.

Thank you, thank you, thank you!!

[crocdoc]

Thank you, thank you, thank you!!

You're welcome, but my contribution was small - I helped work on just that four minute sequence. Four minutes of air time, anyway. Much longer in the preparation!

have scientists figured out if the mothers usually go to release their babies, or if that was just a fluke coincidence?

My theory is that it's a bit of both. It's well known from captive monitors that females do a lot of test digging at the start of the reproductive cycle, at around the same time (or even before) they start mating. At that stage they've got yolked up ova ready to be fertilised. They usually test dig in areas they've nested before, so in the case of female lace monitors they're likely to return to termite mounds they've used in the past. They usually have a pretty small home range, anyway, so they'd be familiar with all of the termite mounds in their area. The start of the reproductive cycle in wild females happens at around the same time babies are hatching out of eggs, so it's likely that any test digging will free the previous breeding season's young.

The question is whether or not they'd be able to escape, anyway. The other species of monitor around here that lays eggs in termite mounds, the heath monitor (Varanus rosenbergi), doesn't release its young and its young are equally small and weak. The fact that this species doesn't release its young fits in perfectly with my theory for lace monitors, for heath monitors have a shorter incubation period and consequently the females aren't anywhere near the start of their reproductive cycle when the previous season's eggs start hatching, so they aren't test digging at that time.

[Bradyloach]

Wow, intresting for sure. I'm going to order that movie now :)