NATURE
monitor lizard(varanus salvator)
The most common monitor lizard among the three found in Singapore is the Malayan water monitor (Varanus salvator) that can grow up to 3m long. The other two species, the clouded monitor lizard (Varanus nebulous), and the rarest Dumeril’s monitor (Varanus dumerilii) can grow to a length of 1 to 1.5m. Monitor lizards are mostly carnivorous; some also scavenge on carrion. It can be found in forests, mangrove swamps, and even man-made canals!
scorpion(arachnida)
Scorpions have a poisonous sting at the tip of their tail
There are almost 2,000 scorpion species, but only 30 or 40 have strong enough poison to kill a person. The many types of venom are effectively tailored to their users' lifestyles, however, and are highly selected for effectiveness against that species' chosen prey.
Scorpions typically eat insects, but their diet can be extremely variable—another key to their survival in so many harsh locales. When food is scarce, the scorpion has an amazing ability to slow its metabolism to as little as one-third the typical rate for arthropods. This technique enables some species to use little oxygen and live on as little as a single insect per year. Yet even with lowered metabolism, the scorpion has the ability to spring quickly to the hunt when the opportunity presents itself—a gift that many hibernating species lack.
a very rare natural sighting of a monitor lizard trying to catch a scorpion
but the scorpion tried to defend itself with its claws and poisonous sting and ended in a draw
The monitor lizard slowly walks away and the scorpion hides under the grass..
and I captured this rare moment on my cellphone
