FOB Salerno has a little more wildlife than my last deployment location (FOB Shank). This place teems with birds, bats and monitor lizards (and apparently camel spiders and Sind Krait snakes… but I have yet to see any). The funny thing is that the birds don’t like the lizards at all. It’s not uncommon to see birds swooping in and attacking a monitor lizard (they never seem to do any harm, but the lizards run like heck from the aerial attacks).
The monitor lizards around here are Bengal monitors (common Indian monitor) and seem to be somewhere on the average of 3 feet long. They can grow to be around 5 foot 9 inches long and can give you a good scare if you happen upon them at night. However, they’re rather harmless reptiles. They aren’t venomous, and they want nothing to do with humans.
This poor fella (I guess it’s a fella) was being harassed by the birds and couldn’t seem to find his way to the other side of the fence. He likely lives underneath the connex’s by the helicopters. This guy proved he wasn’t the brightest of beasts, as he spent about 30 minutes trying to poke his way through the openings of the chain link fence. Unfortunately, his girth was simply to great to allow him passage through the fence line.
So after capturing some glamour shots, we decided to help the poor beast out and give him a little direction. After LTC M gave him her patented “do what I tell you, or I will rip out your heart” stare; giving him just the guidance he needed to make the right choice and turn towards the gate opening. MAJ W used a more gentle approach and gently talked him through the final 15 feet of fence line. He made his escape just before a bird swooped in to give him a “don’t let the door hit you in the ass” dive (see video below).
