Monitor Lizards Habitat

The river flows calmly, dividing half of Banda Aceh's mainland city. Working with my laptop by the river, feeling the breeze, and accompanied by a cup of milk coffee, or a drink we call sanger, it was unexpectedly almost sundown. It happened in the backyard of the Join Kopi coffee shop in Punge, Banda Aceh. The coffee shop's proprietor is quite pleasant. Personally, I wouldn't mind staying for half a day.

The Punge River, as it is usually known, has an average width of 10 meters. There are degraded riverbanks that naturally become nests and habitats for monitor lizards (Varanus).

The location is not a zoo, and monitor lizards are not protected. They can survive in the wild without being bothered by humans, and vice versa. This amphibian can roam the river freely. An unmissable opportunity to photograph them; sometimes they bask on the opposite side, hunting for prey, and sometimes swimming.

Suddenly, a basketball dropped into the river 'plum', which really took me by surprise. It turned out that the ball was dumped into the river by one of the four young men at the next table. I heard one of them say, "Brother is taking pictures, so you will be taken too." I don't know their jokes. One of them must be willing to get half of his thigh wet when picking up the ball into the river.

I also did not miss taking a picture of a feral cat that was on the bank of the river. I gifted him four close-up shot poses: the backside of the head pose, the frontside face, the leftside face, and the rightside face that is roaring.

Enjoying a cup of milk coffee, sorting pictures, and posting.

Teken with:
Camera: Sony A7 III
Lens: Sony FE 50mm F1.8 and Canon EF100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS USM + E-Mount Metabones adapter.

Thank You
Irfan M Nur (@vannour)