The Asian Water Monitor (Varanus salvator) is a large varanid lizard native to South and Southeast Asia. It is the second-largest lizard in the world after the Komodo dragon. It is also one of the most common monitor lizards in Asia, ranging from coastal northeast India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, mainland Southeast Asia, and southern China to Indonesian islands where it lives close to water, as it is an excellent swimmer. It is a powerful predator that preys on fish, turtles, frogs, waterbirds, and sometimes carrion.