A young Perentie (Varanus giganteus) at Kata Tjuta, Northern Territory, Australia

The perentie is the largest monitor lizard or goanna native to Australia, and fourth-largest living lizard on earth, after the Komodo dragon, the crocodile monitor, and the water monitor. Found west of the Great Dividing Range in the arid areas of Australia, they are not a common sight because of their shyness and the remoteness of much of their range from human habitation.

Their status in indigenous Aboriginal culture is evident in the totemic relationships, and part of a dreaming, as.. more