The Bengal monitor (Varanus bengalensis) or common Indian monitor, is a monitor lizard found widely distributed over the Indian Subcontinent, as well as parts of Southeast Asia and West Asia. Monitor lizards perform an essential function in agricultural and forest ecosystems by feasting on insects, rodents, bird eggs, snakes, fish, and crabs, thereby regulating their populations. India is home to four Monitor lizards – the Bengal Monitor (Varanus bengalensis), the Asian Water monitor (Varanus salvator), the Yellow monitor (Varanus flavescens) and the Desert monitor (Varanus griseus). The Bengal monitor lizard can adapt to a wide range of environments, from deserts to rainforests to seasonally snowy winter habitats, unlike other varanid lizards.
