A 1.5-metre-long goanna clings for dear life to a log being hoisted across the Torrumbarry Weir. The goanna was being rescued by a quick thinking G-MW employee.
Weir keeper Luke Simpson enjoys a varied job on the Murray River, but last week, the job took a surprising turn when he decided to help out a distressed animal.
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The Goulburn-Murray Water employee was doing a routine inspection of Torrumbarry Weir on Thursday, February 1, when he noticed something on the downstream side of the weir gates.
It was a 1.5 metre goanna, caught in the turbulent current next to the huge gates.
The goanna clinging on to the log.
Luke said the goanna looked exhausted from trying to escape and tried to work out how he could help.
It was far too dangerous to climb down, but Luke — remembering that goannas are excellent climbers — hit on the idea of lowering a log down to the goanna so he could climb on.
He used a 12-tonne gantry crane, used for weir maintenance, to lower the log.
The goanna appeared to be trapped in the backwater below the weir.
“He wasn’t sure for a start, but after about 15 minutes he climbed on, and I hoisted him up,” Luke said.
The goanna was lowered onto a hard-standing concrete area.
“I think he was pretty tired because he didn’t want to move, so I grabbed him by the tail and moved him to a garden bed,” Luke said.
While the goanna was recovering, Luke went off to fetch some carp (European carp are an introduced pest which G-MW removes from the river for delivery to a composting business).
After a feed of carp and a long rest, the goanna scooted off into the bush.
Luke, who is actually a senior storage officer, said the grateful lizard has been back, probably looking for another feed of carp.
“We get a few goannas around here, different sizes,” he said.
“They’re good climbers, probably looking for birds and birds’ eggs.”
Goannas (or lace monitors) are carnivores and can grow up to two metres long. The scientific literature notes they are excellent climbers.
The lucky goanna chowing down on a meal of carp after being rescued. Squeeze of lemon with that?
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