Amazing Defenses!

Lizards have many ways of defending themselves. Some are super cool, like the common Basilisk. It can run on water. It is also the fastest lizard species known. The blue tailed skink is known for dropping his tail. It is amazing how God designed lizards.

The other day, I was walking down the driveway to check the mailbox, when I saw Samuel climbing up a tree. I asked him what he was doing. He said that there were two lizards that had climbed the tree before him. Now he was trying to catch them, so he climbed up the tree after them. I asked if he wanted some help, and he gladly accepted. One of the eastern fence lizard’s defenses is filling up with air and making a long loud hissing sound when being handled.

After a while of trying to get the lizards to come down, one of them finally decided to make a dash for it, to get to another tree. As it scurried down the tree, Samuel snatched it up and handed it down to me, to put it in one of the containers he had brought. When he did this the lizard puffed up with air and made a hiss. It might have worked against someone else, but we knew what to expect. There was still one more lizard to catch and we were determined to capture it. Slowly we got it into grasping reach. Not seeing the trap that was set, the lizard climbed down the tree. As it did, I reached out my hand and picked her up. She was about nine inches long. The other was a little smaller. It was a boy with a bright blue belly.

Like the eastern fence lizard, the western fence lizard also has a bright blue belly. He flattens his body and exposes his colors, which tricks the predator. He might then be mistaken for a larger more dangerous reptile.

The Frilled lizard stands up on its two back legs and pops out a large piece of colorful skin that surrounds its neck. As it does this, it opens its mouth and hisses like most lizards do. The lizard immediately looks two times bigger, and two times scarier than it was. Most of the time this protection works but if it does not, the Frilled dragon will run to the nearest tree.

When a predator wants to eat the five-inch Horned lizard, he will shoot blood from out of his eye sockets. As a result, the predator is frightened and flees. He also uses this technique to remove foreign particles from the surface of his eyes.

All of the unique ways of defending themselves, from gliding from tree to tree, hiding out under water, or curling up into a ball, are amazing. God created lizards with many ways of staying safe. The other day, Samuel and I were able to see some of these amazing defenses.

~Isaac