You can learn a great deal about wary unobservable species such as Varanus in this way. It is an incredible thrill when the track suddenly becomes the magnificent animal, captured in mid-stride and frozen in time. More often than not, however, before you see it, the animal breaks into a run and dives down a hole or climbs up a tree and escapes into a hollow. The track of a running animal is often harder to follow than that of one walking. Statements about Varanus giganteus to follow are based upon impressions I have gained while following literally hundreds of kilometers of giganteus tracks on foot.
Individuals usually cover great distances when foraging.
I have often followed a fresh track for distances of several kilometers. The perentie, Varanus giganteus , attains a total length of more than 2m. They have been hunted by Aborigines and are exceedingly unapproachable. Their food may once have included small hare wallabies and other mid-sized marsupials, many of which have become extinct. During 207 days in the field in over 16 months in 1966-68, I encountered only two live perenties, one at the edge of sandplain country near a breakaway and the other at a tor area south of Sandstone, and found no evidence of perentie tracks in the sandy desert.