Reptile Photography: Bronze Grass Skink at Valparai

I am generally not into photographing reptiles, rather, as you would know I am more into capturing wildlife and birds in my camera’s lens. But, when an opportunity presents itself, I tend to photograph it irrespective of the subject type.

 
In this case, this off beat moment took place in Valparai when I saw this Bronze Grass Skink (locally known as Aranai Lizard) taking a sunbath not far away from me. And all this happened while I was sipping a hot cup of local Valparai tea and was going through the pictures that I had taken earlier in the day.

 
And when I say that the Bronze Grass Skink was not far away from me, I actually mean that it was about 2 feet from me. Its bronze body and scales were gleaming in the afternoon sun. Initially, there were a couple of them sunbathing, but one of them chose to hide, while the other was kind enough to pose for the camera.

 
The Bronze Grass Skink or the Bronze Mabuya is a species of skink that is found in Asia. It’s scientific name is ‘Eutropis macularia’.

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Aura and Fear of a Saltwater Crocodile

The saltwater crocodile is one of the oldest living species on the planet and undoubtedly the most hardened. It’s intestines are known to digest even the most dangerous virus. It is not that easy to spot them in the wild these days, but I was lucky to spot them in healthy numbers in the marshlands of Yala National Park in South East Sri Lanka.

 
This one in the picture is a juvenile, but it’s look and demeanour still packs a threatening punch.

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Green Lizard at Mini World’s End

I was standing at Mini World’s end, a very picturesque natural drop at Horton Plains in the central highlands of Sri Lanka. The sheer beauty of this location was empowering, but the cynosure of all eyes was this green lizard that was basking in the sun at the cliff’s edge.

 
The lizard was very well camouflaged in the bushes, but that wasn’t enough to escape from the prying eyes of my friend who spotted it and showed it the entire group. Soon, I began changing from my wide angle lens to my telephoto to capture this beautiful creature in great lighting.

 
This lizard posed for a good 10 minutes before deciding to take care of some other business. I would certainly say that this green lizard was the highlight of my visit to Mini World’s End.

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Land Monitor Lizard from Yala National Park, Sri Lanka

The land monitor lizard is a fairly large sized reptile that is found quite commonly at Yala National Park in Sri Lanka. This reptile, though very slow owing to its large bulk is pretty strong and is known to even kill an adult deer for its meals.

 
I was lucky to spot many of them during my wildlife safari trips into Yala National Park, the UNESCO World Heritage Site that is situated near the South Eastern coastline of Sri Lanka. They are locally known as ‘thalagoya’ (thanks to Heminda for the local name). Some of them that I saw here were significantly huge and much larger than the ones I have seen in India.

 
I was also lucky to spot these reptiles in great light. For e.g., I saw one of them clinging onto a tree in the golden hues of the early morning light. I saw a couple of them crossing the road and some of them amongst the bushes.



It is said that the land monitor lizard, like the crocodile has extremely powerful digestive juices and can digest nearly anything. But, if you intend to get close to these creatures, do watch out for their poisonous saliva, which if ingested by your body can cause serious damage. And for their long tail, which can deal a solid blow.

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