Adult monitor lizards are largely solitary, but “cluster” points to an exception: hatchlings. When monitor eggs hatch, often from a nest buried in soil, a termite mound, or rotting vegetation, multiple young monitors can emerge in the same area within a short window, and for a brief period afterward, they may stay clustered nearby before dispersing to establish their own territories.
This early clustering offers some safety in numbers against predators that would otherwise pick off a lone hatchling easily, though monitor parents generally don’t stick around to guard their young the way crocodilians do. Termite mounds are a particularly clever nesting choice used by several monitor species: the mother digs into the mound to lay eggs, the termites reseal it, and the mound’s stable temperature and humidity work like a natural incubator until hatching.
Once dispersed, young monitors grow quickly and adopt the solitary, territorial habits typical of adults.
Example: “A cluster of monitors, all newly hatched, stayed close to the old termite mound for their first few days.”
Related: Collective Nouns for Reptiles · What Is a Group of Monitors Called?