Asian Water Dragons
The Lizard Vanishes... Plop!
Asian Water Dragons (Physignathus cocincinus) are tree living lizards with an unusual escape trick. Some lizards run, others hide but the Asian Water Dragon? It simply vanishes from the trees.
How does it do that? The trick is not just beautiful green leafy camouflage. To prepare for this trick, it helps if you lurk along the banks of freshwater lakes or streams. When threatened by predators, the dragon will drop from the trees - plop! - into the water.
They either swim to safety or, most impressively, remain submerged for up to 25 minutes. Thankfully they are not yet listed as endangered in the wild, as they come from lowland and highland forests in a broad range of countries; India, China, Thailand, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia and Burma. They are common in the pet trade and these ones, like many reptiles in zoos, started life as a pet but arrived here via a local veterinary surgery.
If you are in the Tropical House, you've got a good chance of spotting these dragons as they are active during the day, especially when hunting insects.
