Old man Goanna

Last weekend I took a drive to see the upper reaches of the Bermagui river.

Not a bad stretch of river at all.

On my return I climbed up into higher ground and a forest of spotted gum.
Crossing the road was this guy.

I approached him quickly enough to get him to climb.
At just under 2 meters, this gargantuan lizard is a fearsome piece of work indeed.

As scavenger hunter it will raid nests for eggs and make short work
of your rubbish bin given half a chance to do so.

These claws are great at climbing the smooth trunks of the Spotted Gum.
They are also make for great defense.
The Goanna is a fairly timid animal and will climb to escape predators.
If one comes running at you, you are best to lay down.
It wont think you are a tree then.
A friend of mine was thought of as a tree, by an animal half the size
of the one pictured here, and sports some great scars on his legs.
Luckily the animal didn't make it to perch on the top of his head.

One wonders how these, and many other creatures, are going during the
spotted gum selective felling going on down Bermagui way at the moment.
The areas where this is happening are entry prohibited, though that does not restrict a careful eye seeing ( from outside the zones) the apparent rip and tear
"selective" harvesting going on in one of the east coasts last great stands of these trees.