Monitor lizards are large, highly intelligent reptiles facing threats from habitat destruction, collection for the skin and pet trades, and bushmeat hunting.
Monitor lizards are cognitively sophisticated animals that suffer significantly in inadequate captive conditions. Most species require very large enclosures with thermoregulation gradients, high humidity, and enrichment. Wild-caught adults often refuse to feed and die of stress. Even captive-bred monitors require specialized care that most pet owners cannot provide. In the wild, monitors face habitat destruction, road mortality, and targeted killing for leather and bushmeat. Komodo dragons on their island range face food depletion from deer poaching that reduces their prey base. The species is now listed as Endangered.