Reptiles
Perentie
Varanus giganteus · also called perentie, perenty
The perentie is the giant of Australian lizards — a two-metre-plus monitor of the red desert that rears up on its hind legs like a meerkat to scan the horizon, then runs down snakes, rabbits, and young kangaroos on two legs. For desert Aboriginal peoples it was both a key food and a Dreaming ancestor.
Overview
Perenties live across the arid interior of Australia — rocky ranges, gorges, gibber plains, and sandy deserts with outcrops. They are carnivores, eating insects, other reptiles (including venomous snakes), birds, eggs, and mammals up to rabbit or young-kangaroo size, and digging prey out of burrows. Adults are commonly 1.5–2 m, the largest over 2.5 m and 15–20 kg.
Standing tall, running fast
The perentie rears onto its hind legs and tail to look over the spinifex for prey and danger, and it can sprint on its hind legs alone, using the tail as a counterbalance — one of the fastest lizards.
Size ranking
It is Australia’s largest lizard and generally ranked the fourth-largest in the world, after the Komodo dragon, the Asian water monitor, and the crocodile monitor.
Venom and claws
Like other monitors it has venom glands in the lower jaw, causing swelling and slow clotting — but its size, claws, and bite force are the greater hazard. It is very shy and flees from people.
Culture
The perentie was a staple bush food — its fat especially prized — and a totemic ancestor across the Western Desert, appearing widely in Dreaming stories and desert art.
Status
The perentie is Least Concern, widespread and secure across the arid zone, though naturally sparse and locally affected by feral predators taking young.
Perentie: common questions
How big is a perentie, and where does it rank among lizards?
The perentie is the largest monitor lizard and the largest lizard of any kind in Australia, and it is generally listed as the fourth-largest lizard in the world by length, after the Komodo dragon, the Asian water monitor, and the crocodile monitor of New Guinea. Adults are commonly 1.5 to 2 metres long including the tail, and confirmed large individuals exceed 2.5 metres and weigh 15 to 20 kilograms. It looks even bigger because of its long neck and the way it holds its body high off the ground on straight legs when it moves at speed.
Is the perentie dangerous to humans?
It is potentially dangerous but not aggressive. A perentie is a large, powerful predator with long recurved claws, strong jaws, a whipping tail, and mildly venomous saliva, and a cornered or captured one can inflict deep lacerations, a crushing bite, and bruising tail strikes; bites also tend to become infected because of the bacteria in the mouth. However, perenties are extremely wary of people and their first response to a human is almost always to flee at speed, climb a tree, or dive into a burrow or rock crevice. Serious injuries to people are rare and usually involve someone trying to catch, handle, or corner the animal. There are no records of a perentie killing a person.
Why does the perentie stand up on its back legs?
This "tripod" posture, propped on the hind legs and the base of the tail, raises the head well above the low spinifex, saltbush, and rocks of its habitat, giving the lizard a much better view to spot prey, watch for rival perenties or predators such as wedge-tailed eagles and dingoes, and survey its surroundings before moving. Large monitors including the Komodo dragon and the Nile monitor do the same thing. The perentie can also run on its hind legs alone for short distances, which lifts its head and lets it use its full stride when chasing prey or escaping.
What role does the perentie play in Aboriginal culture?
A large and long-standing one. Across the Western Desert and Central Australia the perentie, often called by names such as ngiya-ngiya or related terms, was one of the most important large game animals of the arid zone, prized both for its meat and especially for its fat, which is rich and was used as food and medicine. It is a totemic ancestor for many groups, appears in Dreaming narratives and ceremony, and is a common subject in rock art and contemporary desert painting. Traditional hunters tracked perenties to their burrows and dug them out, and knowledge of perentie behaviour, tracks, and habitat is part of the ecological expertise passed down in desert communities.