Varanus rosenbergi

6 Heath or Rosenberg's Monitor at Downer, ACT

Varanus rosenbergi at Downer, ACT - 15 Oct 2020
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Identification history

Varanus rosenbergi 15 Oct 2020 wombey
Varanus rosenbergi 15 Oct 2020 trevsci

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Significant sighting

15 Oct 2020

Any sighting of goannas close to urban Canberra is a signifcant sighting.

6 comments

waltraud wrote:
   15 Oct 2020
great spotting trevsci!
   15 Oct 2020
Don this looks like a youngish animal any guesses to how old?
trevsci wrote:
   15 Oct 2020
Wasn't very long, less than 1m, sorry I didn't get a better pic.
waltraud wrote:
   15 Oct 2020
that is a good picture! and a significant sighting!!
Don, remember the termite mount with scratch marks not far away which you noticed and of which I took photos (27 Jan 2017) and we had a correspondence about the mount? one of our volunteers took a photo of a young RB nearby in Feb 2018 (Varanus rosenbergi (Heath or Rosenberg's Monitor)) and Jochen saw a large RM not far from all these sightings (body length approx 1m) in Feb 2016 (unfortunately, no photo).
DonFletcher wrote:
   16 Oct 2020
Many thanks trevsci. This is the most female looking goanna I have seen so far from Ainslie or Majura, but could be a juvenile male too. Females are seen much less at our Naas site and I guess the same would apply for A-M. I can't guess age. I don't think there is any reliable ageing method for Varanids, but we know Rosenberg's are capable of living at least 30 years in the wild. We will probably start a camera survey at A-M this summer. Hopefully that will help give an estimate of population size and may start to recognise some individuals for future years.
DonFletcher wrote:
   16 Oct 2020
Correction!! As Matthew Higgins pointed out, my comment about 'most female looking' omitted consideration of 'Rosie' and 'Roxy', the females he found nesting on Mt Ainslie.

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