Varanus rosenbergi
17 Heath or Rosenberg's Monitor at Watson, ACT
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| Varanus rosenbergi | wombey | 3 Mar 2022 | |
| Varanus rosenbergi | trevsci | 3 Mar 2022 |
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Significant sighting
MichaelMulvaney noted:
3 Mar 2022
Great head shot photos = throwing light on the movement of Rex an Goanna that has bene monitored since 2015 - If you happen to come across a Goanna please try to get images of both sides of the head
9 comments
3 Mar 2022
Lovely face photo Trevsci! Annnnd (drum roll), this is Rex, first photographed by Matt Higgins in 2015. He mated with Rosie who produced offspring two years running. All previous sightings of Rex have been almost 4 km further south on the north west aspect of Mt Ainslie. Male home ranges are generally around 2/3 of a square kilometre (66 ha) so this location near the old Majura Horse Paddock indicates he may be on some kind of excursion out of his home range. But we have previously seen those sorts of movements only at mating time (Dec-Jan) and in March-April when they move to winter quarters.
3 Mar 2022
Don is there any significance that Rex is just beginning to shed his old skin? Does it mark a change in season?
3 Mar 2022
Not as far as I know Michael. Patches come loose throughout the warmer months and when they are growing rapidly.
5 Mar 2022
So interesting, well spotted and photographed Trevsci.
So either his home range is larger than expected or he is looking for adventure or new real estate.
If the latter, perhaps the human and dog population has driven him and/or his partners away from their base on Mt Ainslie - they did once occupy Black Mountain. Sad if that is the case.
So either his home range is larger than expected or he is looking for adventure or new real estate.
If the latter, perhaps the human and dog population has driven him and/or his partners away from their base on Mt Ainslie - they did once occupy Black Mountain. Sad if that is the case.
9 Apr 2022
if you look close the Rm on the feature image has a bite mark at the base of its tail. Unfortunately, people walking their dogs off lead increased during Covid19 and it didn't help that Parks Service ranger positions were culled. Our nature reserves are clearly not managed for their conservation values...
Location information
- Places Watson, ACT
Sighting information
- 1 Abundance
- trevsci Recorded by
- Alive / healthy Animal health
Collections
- Significant Featured trevsci Canberra & Southern Tablelands NatureMapr Varanus rosenbergi Monitors & Geckos Reptiles and Frogs
Species information
- Varanus rosenbergi Scientific name
- Heath or Rosenberg's Monitor Common name
- Sensitive
- Very rare / threatened
- Non-invasive or negligible
- Up to 1432.1m Recorded at altitude
- External link More information
Record quality
Quality score
5 / 7
- Images or audio
- More than one media file
- Verified by an expert moderator
- GPS evidence of location
- Additional attributes
- Nearby sighting(s) of same species
- Description