Varanus niloticus (Linnaeus, 1766)

Kirchhof, Sebastian, Wasonga, Victor, Mazuch, Tomáš, Spawls, Stephen & Malonza, Patrick Kinyatta, 2023, An annotated checklist of the herpetofauna of the Sibiloi National Park in northern Kenya based on field surveys, Amphibian & Reptile Conservation (e 324) 17 (1 / 2), pp. 1-18 : 9-10

Varanus niloticus (Linnaeus, 1766)

CITES App. II

Vouchers: None

Localities: IL (G)

Remarks: The most widespread African lizard usually lives near fresh water sources from sea level to around 1,600 m elevation, and rarely higher. We observed one individual Nile Monitor walking along the shore of Lake

Turkana in the early afternoon in December 2016. This species might be under threat in some parts of Africa, as it is exploited for its skin, particularly in West Africa, but the proliferation of dams has provided extra habitat for this species ( Spawls et al. 2018). It is probably quite common in SNP.