Kotonoh Monitor

The Kotonoh Monitor on a beach at Gili Rintang, Kotonoh, Sokoku.

The Kotonoh Monitor (Varenus Kotonoensis) is an extant member of the monitor lizard family Varanidae that is endemic to the Sokokan islands of Gili Rintang, Cerah, Nusantara, Selat Kelapa, Awan and Jelita. It is the largest extant species of lizard, growing to a maximum length of 3 m (9.8 ft), and weighing up to 70 kg (150 lb). As a result of their size, Kotonoh Monitors are apex predators, and dominate the ecosystems in which they live. Kotonoh Monitors hunt and ambush prey including invertebrates, birds, and mammals. Their group behavior in hunting is exceptional in the reptile world. The diet mainly consists of Kotonoh rusa (Rusa smbarensis), though they also eat considerable amounts of carrion. They also occasionally attack humans.

Taxonomic histoy

Rumors of a "terrible dragon" or "living dinosaur" have been persistent all during the Auresian colonial period. The rumors were categorised as folklore, until a group of palaeontologists was directed to a pit with fossilised remains near Desa Huntang on the mainland of Kotonoh. According to local mythology, the last dragons of Kotonoh were captured here and lived out their lives in custody long before recorded history. The remains were categorised as an extinct species in 7575.

After the description was published, more rumors about sightings of the animal arrived at the Auresian colonial administration. In 7610 scientists in Cedelphia received a skin of the animal from the island of Gill Rintang, which was the main reason for organising and expedition to the island in 7612. With help of local scouts, living specimen of the Kotonoh Monitor were found. A second expedition in 7626 delivered 12 conserved specimen and 2 live ones, changing the status of the species from extinct to extant. It is generally accepted that several slightly different (sub)species have been present on Kotonoh and Tanah Ek, but that the introduction of humans around 10.000-15.000 years ago gradually led to the extinction of the large predator on the main islands, only resulting in niche populations surviving on small islands.

The Auresian authorities, realizing the small number of animals alive in the 7620's, immediately banned hunting or collecting specimen. Collecting expeditions ground to a halt with the occurrence of the First Coalition Wars, not resuming until the 7640s and 7650s, when studies examined the reptile's feeding behaviour, reproduction, and body temperature. Further studies on archaeological remains and mitochondrial DNA learned that the Kotonoh Monitor only has common ancestors among monitors living in D'Runia, with similar subspecies roaming the southern coast as late as 150,000 to 500,000 years ago.

Behaviour and ecology

The Kotonoh Monitor prefers hot and dry places and typically lives in dry, open grassland, savanna, and tropical forest at low elevations. As an ectotherm, it is most active in the day, although it exhibits some nocturnal activity. They are solitary, coming together only to breed and eat. They are capable of running rapidly in brief sprints up to 20 km/h (12 mph), diving up to 4.5 m (15 ft), and climbing trees proficiently when young through use of their strong claws. To catch out-of-reach prey, the Komodo dragon may stand on its hind legs and use its tail as a support. As it matures, its claws are used primarily as weapons, as its great size makes climbing impractical. The reptile stays in the shade during the hottest part of the day and hunts in the afternoon. The special resting places are usually located on ridges with cool sea breezes. They also serve as strategic locations from which to ambush deer. Kotonoh Monitors are apex predators. They are carnivores; although they have been considered as eating mostly carrion, they will frequently ambush live prey with a stealthy approach. When suitable prey arrives near an ambush site, it will suddenly charge at the animal at high speeds and go for the underside or the throat.

The Kotonoh Monitor is also cannibalistic, which is one of the main reason why juvenile monitors climb trees and feed on insects and birds while growing up. After 2-3 years, they are large and enough to outrun other adults.

Attacks on humans are rare, but Kotonoh Monitors have been responsible for several human fatalities, in both the wild and in captivity. They generally avoid encounters with humans. The animals however responds quickly to the smell of any blood, so local villagers don't go out in the fields even if they have the slightest scratch on their bodies. Juvenile monitors are very shy and will flee quickly into a hideout if a human comes closer than about 100 metres (330 ft). Older animals will also retreat from humans from a shorter distance away. If cornered, they may react aggressively by gaping their mouth, hissing, and swinging their tail. If they are disturbed further, they may attack and bite.

Volcanic activity, earthquakes, loss of habitat, fire, loss of prey due to poaching, and illegal poaching of the animals themselves have all contributed to the vulnerable status of the Kotonoh Monitor. In 7690, the total population of Kotonoh Monitors in the wild was assessed as around 5,000 individuals.

In culture

Most of the cultural outings regarding the Kotonoh Monitor have only existed in the oral tradition of the region. Anthropologists only started recording them after the discovery of living specimen in the 7620's. The local name for the Kotonoh Monitor translates as "land crocodile". There is a local belief that as soon as the Monitor enters the water, that it turns into a saltwater crocodile. So for a long time, the animals were considered to be the same.

Since the Kotonoh Monitor prefers open grassland as its hunting ground, most of them have a habitat close to the sea. When the Julian Event caused high waves along Kotonoh's northern coasts, a large part of the Monitor population was washed away. Some of them then appeared on the coastline of Tanah Ek and according to local legends there, some of them even alive. They weren't able to populate on Tanah Ek and the disaster most probably killed the last remaining populations on Kotonoh Proper. But there is a huge increase in dragon related stories dating back to the Julian Event. On Tanah Ek, these dragon stories played an important part during colonisation and has given a regional identity to the place. Curiously enough, mankind and monitors have never shared the same habitat on Tanah Ek, apart from these disaster related drifters. A related monitor on Tanah Ek became extinct somewhere between 170,000 and 270,000 years ago.

There's a widespread misconception that the monitor uses venom or bacteria as a part of their hunting killing methods. While the large lizards do have bacteria causing infections between their teeth, using bacterial infection as a hunting method is way too slow. The animal does have venomous glands, but they are thought to control the amount of bacteria in the mouth cavity. But the misconception about venom and bacteria is still quite commonplace.

Preservation of the animal is part of the local pride on the island and Kotonoh in general. Before the animals got their protected status, there was a custom of feeding them some goats as an offering, away from the villages. This should protect the domesticated animals, often goats, living in the human settlements. Apart from one offering ritual per year under the overseeing eyes of conservationists, this practice is no longer allowed. Conservationists want to avoid that the lizards get used to being fed and therefore move closer to the villages, or start associating humans with food.