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Well that is just it - bigger is better (in more ways than 1!), and bigger fellas get what they want/require. This goes for all Varanus species. Look at Walter Auffenberg's 1981 book on 'Social' = not a whole lot there really, just inter/intra-specific behaviors in hierarchy; as well as Jenny Daltry's study of V. salvator; Bivash Pandav's 18 month study on V. salvator in Bangladesh; Walter Auffenberg's studies on V. olivaceus (1994) and V. bengalensis (1995), the Lutz's books on Komodo's; Claudio Ciofi's studies on Komodo's, and all the Pianka papers, and the list goes on and on, dozens of studies become hundreds, and I have read them all, and have them all right here in my files....there is no clear cut evidence from the plethora of field studies, except 1, where it demonstrates Varanus are social; the 1 field study I find most fascinating is by Kai Philipps when he studied V. indicus, V. jobiensis, V. doreanus and V. salvadorii in PNG and found V. jobiensis nesting together in a tree hollow with V. salvadorii. I have 1 other eye-witness account of V. rudicollis living 10-20 meters up certain trees 20 km S. Kuala Lumpur where 1 V. rudicollis was seen on each tree, with adjacent trees having their own V. rudicollis among them as well - he would catch them and keep for a few months then return them back to this same grove ....other than those two accounts, I find no hard-core evidence of sociality in Varanidae....it does not mean it is not possible, it means from hundreds of collectors, explorers, zoologists, herpers, it has not been seen = what does that tell you?
In captive habitats, these animals have no choice but to behave in a constrained habitat, and as varanids do not usually kill one another in the wild, but run away, and save their gene pool/genetic diversity, why would they kill in closed box enclosures? They feel compelled to do so, as there is no where for the animal/adversary to go, so the larger animals would assume the lesser aggressor has not bowed to its challenges and must kill it = usually by crushing the head but decapitation has been seen, removing of limbs as well (my animals did that in 1980's) which are similar behaviors they have seen among the aquatic varanoids of the Tethy's Sea 75 million years ago among Mosasaurs, Aigilosaurs and Dolichosaurs. And quite alot has been written on Mosasauridae ethology is the last few years....
and do not forget Heloderma - they are not social but can be found in groups when nesting/mating ensues...
I am not saying it does not happen, but current information says no. It is not the job of a scientist to find it because somebody says it does - it is the person who says it does that should follow it up.... that is the fun of science - to add to the knowledge, not take away from it.
cheers,
markb
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