Cryptids – Megalania

We all know the komodo dragon of Indonesia. It is a monitor lizard and the biggest recognized species of lizard. Western scientists used to regard the accounts of dragon like creatures in Indonesia as superstition until one was finally found and studied by westerners in 1910. But is the komodo dragon really the largest lizard in the world?

Image via worldofstrangemysteries.blogspot.com

We need to go back to Australia 40.000 years ago. Back then humans hadn’t been natives to Australia for long. They shared the land with many weird animals. Giant wombat like creatures, giant birds and other amazing creatures. But they also shared land with an enormous monitor lizard called megalania prisca. Megalania was absolutely huge it is estimated that it could grow to about 7 meters (23 ft) in length and weigh almost 2 tons (4300 lb). It would most of all look like something that lived when the dinosaurs ruled the Earth but in reality it only went extinct relatively recent. It is believed to have went extinct due to decease or man but amazingly enough a few people theorize that this giant may still be alive somewhere in the outback or perhaps even in New Guinea.

The Australian cryptozoologist Rex Gilroy believes in the existence of these animals and he is convinced it is only a matter of time before a live specimen or carcass is found. In 1979 Gilroy studied a newly plowed field with about 30 weird tracks. It had been raining so the shape of most of the tracks was pretty bad. Yet the tracks had an uncanny resemblance to tracks made by monitor lizards, except these tracks were enormous and would fit the size of megalania perfectly.

But there have also been direct sightings of megalania like beasts. Besides the aboriginals’ consistent tales of giant lizards there was also a direct sighting in 1979 by Herpetologist Frank Gordon, who after working in the field walked to his car and to his amazement saw a big log started walking away, he realized the log was an enormous lizard about 30 ft in length. Another eyewitness account was back in the 60’s by a French priest but this time the sighting was in New Guinea. The priest was traveling in the jungle in order to reach his mission when he spotted a very large lizard laying on a trunk. He insisted on further studying the creature but the native guide was too frightened and refused. The next morning the priest returned to the trunk and measured it. Incredibly enough the tree was about 40 ft yet the lizard almost had the same length.

So is megalania real? We know for sure it existed until some thousand years ago, but have a few of them survived unnoticed in the outback of Australia or perhaps in the rainforests of New Guinea where by the way new animals are discovered all the time? It is a fascinating thought but we won’t have the answer until concrete proof is put on the table… If you want to read more about fascinating animals that might exist check out the links below:

El Chupacabra
Loch Ness Monster
Nandi Bear
Mokele Mbembe
Bigfoot
Beast of Gévaudan