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A Bengal Monitor Recovers from a Severe Nylon-Snare Injury

Wild Bengal monitor lizard clearly visible in natural forest habitat
Conservation: Management, Threats

A nylon snare tightened around an adult Bengal Monitor (Varanus bengalensis) as it struggled to escape, leaving a deep wound encircling its neck in Veerpur village, Telangana, India. The roughly 2.4-kilogram lizard showed signs consistent with dehydration and circulatory shock when Forest Department personnel rescued it. Examination found no obvious rupture of the windpipe or perforation of the oesophagus.

Veterinarians first stabilised the lizard, then removed tissue that was too badly damaged to remain viable and repaired the wound. By the tenth day after surgery, the wound was reported healed and the skin stitches were removed. During rehabilitation, the lizard began feeding voluntarily again and showed coordinated movement, good neck mobility and normal responsiveness. It was then released into suitable habitat near where it had been rescued.

The case shows how Forest Department staff and veterinary clinicians worked together to treat and rehabilitate a protected reptile injured by a nylon snare. It also draws attention to the harm such snares can cause. This is the outcome for one animal, however, and observations ended at release; the report does not establish whether the lizard survived or continued to recover afterwards.

Sources and image credit

  1. Rescue, Medical and Surgical Management of Severe Cervical Snare Trauma in an Indian Monitor Lizard (Varanus bengalensis)Publisher's article page; provides the publication date, DOI and case summary.
  2. Rescue, Medical and Surgical Management of Severe Cervical Snare Trauma in an Indian Monitor Lizard (Varanus bengalensis) — full textFull case report documenting the rescue, injury, treatment, rehabilitation, release and limits of follow-up.

Image: Wild Bengal monitor lizard in forest habitat. Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0. Representative photo, not the rescued animal. · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Source

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