In this episode of Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom, biologist Daniel Bennett struggles to study, film and protect a one-of-a-kind lizard: the Butaan. Can this "lost dragon" be saved from oblivion?
Ask Peter Gros — special adviser to Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom and co-host of the original series — your questions about the Butaan lizard now. He'll answer them shortly after Butaan: The Lost Dragon, which premieres Sunday, May 21, at 7 p.m. ET/PT. Get a reminder.
Once again it's a pleasure to chat with you about one of the largest and most endangered fruit-eating lizards in the world. It's always a special treat to be talking about an animal that was thought to have been extinct, and the good news is it's not.
My name is Heidi Tanley was very intrigued to see the show on the Butaans.It was incredible to watch it is good to know that the Butaans have a gardian angel like you to make sure the lizard survises another generation. Iam a dragon lover of sorts and I always want to know more about the dragons that live now. I have a question for you how did the Butaan get its name dragon from?
[quote]My name is Heidi Tanley was very intrigued to see the show on the Butaans.It was incredible to watch it is good to know that the Butaans have a gardian angel like you to make sure the lizard survises another generation. Iam a dragon lover of sorts and I always want to know more about the dragons that live now. I have a question for you how did the Butaan get its name dragon from?[/quote]
I believe the name came from the fact that it's so closely related to the Komodo dragon, which resembles a scaled-down version of dragons from years gone past. The Komodo, a much more publicized lizard, has an average weight of around 155 pounds and is the world's heaviest lizard. They live in scrubby hillsides, open woodlands and dry riverbeds, where they feed on live animals or carrion. Like mythical dragons in the past, they attack by ambush, are happy to consume snakes, other lizards and rodents, and the adults eat much larger prey including wild pigs and water buffalo. Even though the gray's monitor, or Butaan, is much smaller, it is related to the infamous Komodo dragon, and thus shares the "dragon" name.
My name is Tiffany and I am so excited to hear of a once thought extinct creature now has conservationist help to sustain kind. You are an amazing human being to spend the time researching the Butaan. Heidi is right the Butaan does have you for a guardian angel.
When these lizards breed do the parents rear the young or are they left to fend for themselves as say a snake hatchling would be?
Having spent years working with researchers all over the world, I must say what impressed me the most is how unobtrusive Daniel Bennett's research is, and how non-stressful to the species he's studying. The only real physical contact made with the Butaan was an animal saved from a hunter's trap. What a committed researcher just knowing that 80% of the knowledge about the gray's monitor, or Butaan, comes from studying their dung. I hope that the public awareness generated from this show will peak the interest of people all over the world who want to act financially or otherwise to help Daniel and his amazing efforts to save this fascinating species. You can go to Daniel's web site, www.mampam.com, for more information about what you can do to help.
Having spent years working with researchers all over the world, I must say what impressed me the most is how unobtrusive Daniel Bennett's research is, and how non-stressful to the species he's studying. The only real physical contact made with the Butaan was an animal saved from a hunter's trap. What a committed researcher just knowing that 80% of the knowledge about the gray's monitor, or Butaan, comes from studying their fecal matter. I hope that the public awareness generated from this show will peak the interest of people all over the world who want to act financially or otherwise to help Daniel and his amazing efforts to save this fascinating species. You can go to Daniel's web site, www.mampam.com, for more information about what you can do to help.
[quote]breakfastatme says: "My name is Tiffany and I am so excited to hear of a once thought extinct creature now has conservationist help to sustain kind. You are an amazing human being to spend the time researching the Butaan. Heidi is right the Butaan does have you for a guardian angel.
When these lizards breed do the parents rear the young or are they left to fend for themselves as say a snake hatchling would be?"[/quote]
Anguimorph lizards in general may lay eggs or give birth to live young. Several species of monitors incubate their eggs in termite nests using their strong claws to break into the mounds. When the termites repair the nest, the eggs are entombed in a controlled environment and protected from predators. They often hatch at the start of the rainy season when the soil softens.
The Komodo dragon, a close relative of the Butaan, lays clutches of around 20-30 eggs once a year, which are buried in burrows made by the female under the roots of a tree or under rocks.
In the wild, the gray's monitor, or Butaan, lays a single clutch of up to 11 eggs, which hatch between July and October. They account for up to 18 percent of the female's body weight. Very little is known about nesting habits, but tree hollows seem to be the most likely nest sites. Unfortunately, there's no good data to determine exactly what happens after the eggs are laid.
Hello, I had a question about the method with string used by D. Bennett to track the Butaan caught (in the hunter's trap). I haven't heard of a method like this being used before, was D. Bennett pioneering with this method or has it been used in the past, if so do you know where the description of this technique has been published? I think it would be a fascinating read. Thanks!
[quote]Hello, I had a question about the method with string used by D. Bennett to track the Butaan caught (in the hunter's trap). I haven't heard of a method like this being used before, was D. Bennett pioneering with this method or has it been used in the past, if so do you know where the description of this technique has been published? I think it would be a fascinating read. Thanks![/quote]
I have never seen this basic and very inexpensive form of animal tracking before. To get more details, exactly how it works, I would go to his web site, www.mampam.com. If you go to the Butaan project and click on "research," there's a box at the bottom with a link where you can contact Daniel Bennett.
thank you so much for this episode on the phil dragon. i have seen the butaan in southern leyte,philippines. i thought they're wonderful creatures and i am so glad to finally see a show about them.i've always seen shows on commodo dragon and wondered why not about the butaan.thanks again and more power.by the way, how may i contact those scientist in the phils?
