Here in Australia we have a lot of different types of lizards, big ones and small ones but I think the guy in this photo from 1935 would have to be one of the biggest of them all!
This lizard is a 6ft long Bungarra (Sand Goanna) and can you imagine what was going through the mind of the dog in the background (which looks like a Border collie to me just for sizing purposes) when it wandered up? The dog was tied to the kennel after all which means that escape was not on the cards…. *cue Jaws music*…..
These lizards eat pretty much anything that fits in their mouth, and at this size that means pretty much everything that crosses its path is in danger.
My favourite old newspaper article about lizard was this post, The Mysterious Kumi and after seeing this photo I can readily imagine people believing in reptilian monsters!
I have done a few other posts about lizards over time, most recently about the lizards we came across on our holiday; a grumpy Stumpy Tail, a Jacky Dragon and a sunbather at Silverton.
The West Australian 26 Mar 1935 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article32854347
Buried words and Bushwa. 
It makes you wonder about the Loch Ness monster as one of the first modern sightings was when they opened up a road along it and an old couple in a car witnessed something crossing the road in front of them!
Yep, what people think they saw and what was really there are two different things. Of course I want there to be a family of Nessies gliding around in the Loch, I’m just not holding my breath….
You woukdn’t want to be asleep under a tree with bare feet when chummie came along would you.?x
You’re not wrong! I think you would be throwing your lunch at it and running for your life 🙂
Wow…. I had no idea we were blessed with goannas /that/ big. 😦 I don’t think I’d be saying ‘shoo’ to something that size, not even at the end of a broom…
Agreed. I think we would be stepping aside and offering a polite dip of the hat 🙂 I expect that there aren’t too many lizards the size of this reptilian gentleman out there these days. (foxes, feral cats… grrrr)
You never know! Carnavon is 900 km north of Perth so there might be a few more lurking around up there. At least I hope so.
I hope so too. I wouldn’t like to find one ravaging my campsite larder though!
Poor little Jack had her first encounter with a wild lizard yesterday, a Blue tongue came out of the woodpile and had her on the run for a few minutes. I saved it from the barking and took it out a strawberry as an encouragement award for standing up to her (it looked like it bit Jack on the nose) and freaking her out 🙂
Shortly after she came across another one on the hill so I had to go and save the entire neighbourhood from the barking again! I love Blue tongues, they are so mellow they didn’t even bother to put on a grumpy display.
I haven’t seen our bluetongue since last summer when it scared the bejesus out of me by pretending to be a snake. He rattled me so much I closed off some of his favourite hiding spots and he was last seen emigrating next door. 😦
It doesn’t matter how many legs they have, if they look scaly and are hanging out in the garden the first thing you think of is snake isn’t it?
Did you see the clip EllaDee put in her comment? I think that waking up to a goanna in your tent would mean you never slept again!
Yes! Especially when you /can’t/ see the legs. 😦
That’s exactly the indignant look my Border Collie would give one as well………not that looks can actually kill you understand, but it’s her first and only line of defense.
I wonder if that is the indignant look of a dog whose lunch was just pinched by someone too big to pick a fight with? 😀
To me the dog’s expression, looks like “WTF?”… We had a blue tongues at several properties and my dog would bark at them only when there were drinking from her bucket, otherwise they were ok. I love the big lizards but not up too close. Have you seen this clip? It’s legend in our house 🙂
That was hilarious! What a rude awakening 😀
I am glad your dog knew to leave the Blueys alone, they are very welcome in our garden too. I am not sure what Jack thought of the lizards yesterday, looking from her level they would be quite intimidating so she was very brave to stand up to them, I still told her off though, hopefully she gets over it before she encounters a snake. 😦
The dog in that article does look WTF doesn’t it. I wonder if the goanna had come in to steal the dogs dinner?
(The clip was so funny I rearranged your comment so that it would be where everyone could see it)
Thanks. Good point – that’s probably what the goanna had in mind – they are opportunistic buggers, and he wouldn’t have planned on the dog being there 🙂
I bet that goanna hadn’t encountered too many other critters that would protest too loudly about its interest in their meals. This dog looks like it did the smart thing, just stood back and tried not to look too tasty 😉
Pretty scary to me!
But then, I jumped the first time I saw an Iguana move. It was enjoying the sun by a tennis court, looking more than a little like a small dinosaur toy, and then all of a sudden it snapped its head to face me. WOW!
I love lizards and have no fear of them but I can tell you that I every time I encounter one unexpectedly it certainly gets the heart racing 🙂 An Iguana looking like a toy would definitely give most people a start when it moved!
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