Editing Monitor lizard (section)

=== Leather ===
"Large-scale exploitation" of monitor lizards is undertaken for their skins, which are described as being "of considerable utility" in the leather industry.{{cn|date=April 2025}} In [[Papua New Guinea]], monitor lizard leather is used for membranes in traditional drums (called ''[[Kundu (drum)|kundu]]''), and these lizards are referred to as ''kundu palai'' or "drum lizard" in [[Tok Pisin]], the main Papuan trade language. Monitor lizard skins are prized in making the resonant part of serjas (Bodo folk sarangis) and dotaras (native strummed string instruments of Assam, Bengal and other eastern states). The leather is also used in making a [[Carnatic music]] percussion instrument called the ''[[kanjira]]''.