Durban — Murdoch, a large black-throated monitor with a compromised liver, has died at the South African Association for Marine Biological Research (Saambr).
The Dangerous Creatures Reptile House, situated in the uShaka Village Walk at uShaka Marine World, has been home to Murdoch since 2011.
Over the past 13 years, half a million visitors to uShaka Marine World have stood in awe of Murdoch’s gentle spirit as he went about his day in his home outside Dangerous Creatures.
Saambr spokesperson Ann Kunz said that at about 22 years old, it was not surprising when Murdoch started showing signs of age-related issues by slowing down his movements.
“He remained indoors most of the day and seldom showed interest in venturing outside into the sun. These changes in his behaviour were very similar to those displayed by his brother Raymond when Raymond was nearing his end-of-life stages two years ago,” Kunz said.
She said that the Saambr veterinary and herpetology teams decided that it was time to perform exploratory surgery to get a better understanding of his condition.
During the exploration, it was discovered that his liver was compromised to the extent that it could not repair itself. A decision was made to let Murdoch rest in peace, Kunz said.
Senior herpetologist Lesley Labuschagne, who was his principal caregiver, echoed the sentiments of her colleagues, tenants and visitors when she described Murdoch as a gentle soul who calmly and gently helped people connect with reptiles most incredibly. Murdoch’s two favourite things were eggs and the sun.
“His love of eggs was such that it was even noticed by a local Tafta resident who has visited him every single day for the past four years and once a month arrived with half a dozen eggs for him,” Labuschagne said.
Raymond had also called Dangerous Creatures his home since 2011 before his death in March 2022. He was around 20 years old by the time of his death.
Raymond was one of their geriatric residents, so it was not surprising when, despite eating well, he started to lose muscle mass and show a few other signs of age-related issues, including extensive liver pathology. After performing tests, it was found that the probable cause of his elevated glucose levels was a tumour.
Raymond was becoming more unstable each day and based on his prognosis and age, a decision was made to let him rest in peace.
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