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Subadult Bengal Monitor Regurgitated an Indus Valley Toad in Pakistan

Wild Bengal monitor beside water and a fallen tree in Yala National Park, Sri Lanka
Research · Behaviour

A field note published in 2026 documents a subadult Bengal monitor (Varanus bengalensis) regurgitating an adult Indus Valley toad (Firouzophrynus stomaticus) in Jhelum District, Punjab Province, Pakistan. The observation was made at 12:29 on 19 July 2025 near the edge of an agricultural area.

The monitor moved a short distance before stopping and regurgitating the toad. The prey was nearly intact, which the author interpreted as indicating that it had probably been swallowed earlier the same day.

The author reports this as the first documented observation of regurgitation by a Bengal monitor in Pakistan. He notes that consuming toxic toads has contributed to declines in some Australian monitor populations, while other monitor species have been observed eating toxic toads without apparent harm.

Sources and image credit

  1. Junaid, A. (2026). First documented observation of regurgitation by a Bengal Monitor, Varanus bengalensis (Daudin 1802), in Pakistan. Reptiles & Amphibians, 33(1), e24363.

Image: Carlos Delgado — wild Bengal monitor in Yala National Park, Sri Lanka, 6 August 2014. Representative photograph, not the animal observed in Pakistan. Cropped to 16:9. Wikimedia Commons; CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Source

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