Help save Monitor Lizards: WWF-TRAFFIC By IANS | Published on Sat, Feb 6 2021 13:57 IST | 0 Views Help save Monitor Lizards: WWF-TRAFFIC. Image Source: IANS News Mumbai, Feb 6 : Monitor Lizards, which once helped the Maratha General Tanaji Malusare scale the steep hilltop Sinhagad Fort in Pune in 1670, are now battling for their own survival. The World Wildlife Fund-India and TRAFFIC have urged people to protect the 'Varanus' species of Monitor Lizards which are targeted for certain traditional medicines. These large lizards, with different species measuring from 8 inches to others upto 3 metres long, are illegally traded for the males' sex organs that resemble a 'hatha-jodi' or the root of the Tiger's Claw (Martynia annua), a plant with diverse traditional uses in Ayurveda.