Monitor Lizard Meat

From a young age I was exposed to eating of wild exotic meat especially monitor lizard meat. It was only later that I stopped myself from eating it.

My Nang Chong uncles used to kill lots of snakes and monitor lizards with their guns before 1963 (the year Foochow villagers had to surrender their guns to the government. Most of the Foochows owed air guns to protect their farms (animals and family members). Very few Foochow villagers trapped animals in those days. Cartridges were cheap by the dozen in fact.

Recently living by the banks of the Lusut River in Miri I find that there are plenty of monitor lizardsm big ones and small ones...and baby ones. I even had one which came by the backyard every day for more than 6 months and then someone must have killed it for lunch.

Recently my husband bought a new gun and as he can not longer for for long hunting trips, he will kill some monkeys and monitor lizards which came as marauders in our backyards. Our fruits and our yard animals like geese and even small puppies have been taken by perhaps these visitors.

We have on a few occasions shot monitor lizards and my husband had them dressed and asked a friend Gilbert to come and collect the meat for his family's dinner, or soup of the tail for his wife. Gilbert is also the beneficiary of the monkeys shot by the new gun,

Note: monitor lizards are good climbers. I have taken a nice photo of a climbing monitor lizard on a coconut tree. So never be surprised when you are in Sarawak.