Varanus flavescens   

Yellow monitor

 

DISTRIBUTION: Pakistan, India, Nepal, Bangladesh (for detailed distribution data, see Auliya & Koch 2020)

RED LIST STATUS: Endangered (EN) in 2019

CITES: Appendix I

NATIONAL PROTECTION:

India. – Listed in Schedule 1, Part II of the Wildlife (Protection) Act of India, 1972

Nepal. – Listed in Schedule I of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation Act, 1973

THREATS:

Nepal. – Loss of wetlands; illegal killing for bushmeat (mostly) and sporadic evidences of trade

RESEARCH NEEDS:

General. – Evaluate impacts of harvest levels for domestic use

Nepal. – Population/occupancy estimates; evaluate impact of illegal killing

CURRENT PROJECTS

Nepal. – Current and future habitat suitability model for V. flavescens led by Suraj Baral; assessement of road kills of V. flavescens led by Santosh Bhattarai; assessment of poaching level and anitipoaching awareness led by Santosh Bhattarai

Adult wild Varanus flavescens, marshlands of lower bengal floodplains, southern West Bengal © Avrajjal Ghosh

Adult wild Varanus flavescens, near the floodplains of a river bed, grasslands of northern West Bengal © Sourav Mandal