Simon, Valerie

English

The University of Kansas: Journals@KU

	 IRCF	ReptIles	&	AmphIbIAns		•		Vol	18,	no	4		•		DeC	2011	 239A	most	RemARkAble	Anolea Highly anecdotal account of a  Most Remarkable anoleValerie	simonVero	beach,	Florida	(val_simon8@yahoo.com)photographs	by	the	author.“You’ve	gotta	see	this!”	my	fiancé	mark	called	to	me	one	morning.	he	was	outside,	which	could	mean	only	one	thing:	A	wildlife	encounter	was	underway.	living	in	a	semi-rural	neighborhood	in	Florida,	you	never	knew	what	you	would	see,	from	a	mated	pair	of	sandhill	Cranes	walking	down	the	street	with	their	young,	to	Gopher	tortoises	excavating	burrows	in	the	front	yard.	 I	walked	downstairs	to	the	concrete	area	under	our	elevated	house	where	mark	was	staring	at	something	on	the	ground.	I	looked	down	to	see	a	Cuban	treefrog	(Osteopilus septentrionalis)	with	the	tail	of	a	Green	Anole	(Anolis carolinensis)	protruding	from	its	gullet.	 “I	knew	that	lizard,”	mark	said	forlornly.	 “What	do	you	mean,	you	recognize	the	lizard	just	by	its	tail?”	 “Yeah,	he	was	the	biggest	male	around	here.	I	think	he	was	the	one	who	watched	me	nail	the	lumber	together	for	the	floor.	I	swear	he	would	follow	me	around.”	 We	watched	as	the	frog	remained	in	a	state	of	suspended	animation	for	several	minutes,	not	making	much	progress	with	its	digestive	activities.	Finally,	it	started	to	open	its	mouth	as	though	having	difficulty	with	its	prey.	 “maybe	we	should	try	to	make	the	frog	regurgitate	the	lizard,”	I	said.	neither	the	frog	nor	the	lizard	(I	could	safely	surmise)	seemed	to	be	having	a	fun	time	of	things.	plus,	as	a	steward	of	the	land,	I	felt	a	responsibility	to	intercede	in	such	matters.	 “no,	we	need	to	let	nature	take	its	course.	besides,	it	might	prolong	the	lizard’s	agony	if	he	were	regurgitated	in	a	mangled	state,”	mark	replied.	 “hmm,	well,	maybe	you’re	right.”	 A	couple	minutes	later	the	frog	regurgitated	the	lizard	on	its	own.	the	lizard	turned	out	to	be	the	large	male	after	all,	and	its	heaving	sides	attested	to	its	continued	survival.	I	ran	to	get	my	camera,	and	when	I	returned,	the	frog	had	swallowed	the	lizard	again,	tail	first.	this	time,	the	lizard	was	fighting	back	by	biting	the	frog’s	forelimb.	As	the	frog	tried	to	swallow	the	lizard,	it	simultaneously	began	to	swallow	its	own	forelimb.	still,	the	lizard’s	snout	was	gradually	descending	down	the	frog’s	gullet.	At	this	point,	I	real-ized	I	was	late	for	work	and	left	soon	afterwards.	mark	stopped	watching	too.	We	wrote	the	lizard	off	as	a	goner.	 the	next	morning,	a	saturday,	I	was	reading	outside	on	a	lounge	chair	when	I	saw	a	lizard	in	the	same	area	as	the	event	from	the	previous	morn-ing.	It	was	a	male	A. carolinensis	courting	a	female.	I	had	almost	returned	to	reading	my	book	when	I	realized	the	lizard	was	missing	its	tail.	Could	it	possibly	be	the	same	individual?	Upon	closer	inspection,	the	lizard	looked	like	it	had	been	through	hell.	Its	skin	was	blackened	in	several	areas,	and	it	had	bits	of	what	could	have	been	digestive	enzymes	or	half-digested	prey	on	its	dorsum.	It	had	to	be	the	same	lizard	after	all!	Yet	despite	the	lizard’s	ordeal,	it	was	still	courting	energetically	…	what	a	trooper!When	it	seemed	like	we	were	rooting	for	the	losing	side,	we	walked	away.should	we	intervene	on	behalf	of	a	favorite	lizard	or	let	nature	take	its	course?Could	“our”	anole	have	survived	his	close	encounter	with	the	Cuban	treefrog?240	 IRCF	ReptIles	&	AmphIbIAns		•		Vol	18,	no	4		•		DeC	2011 sImon	 over	the	next	several	weeks,	the	lizard,	whom	we	named	Gordon,	made	a	complete	recovery.	his	tail	regenerated,	and	he	became	the	fury	of	the	‘hood,	fighting	both	conspecific	males	and	Cuban	brown	Anoles	(A. sagrei)	to	almost	certain	defeat.	perhaps	unwisely,	we	also	starting	feed-ing	him	insects	to	the	point	that	he	would	jump	on	our	legs	when	he	was	hungry.	none	of	the	other	lizards	in	our	yard	tolerated	humans	to	this	extent.	 he	eventually	mated,	and	I	observed	the	pair	settling	down	on	our	landscaping	plant,	a	staghorn	Fern,	one	evening,	with	what	may	have	been	their	offspring	on	a	lower	leaf.	 Gordon	lived	for	several	years	until	he	went	missing	last	year.	perhaps	a	crow	that	had	started	spending	time	close	to	the	house	brought	about	his	demise,	or	possibly	a	kid	from	the	neighborhood	walking	up	the	stairs	around	this	time	may	have	stepped	on	him,	since	Gordon	would	rarely	run	very	far	out	of	the	way.	Regardless,	it	was	an	unhappy	event.	 It	might	sound	corny	to	say	that	a	lizard	can	be	inspirational,	but	Gordon	was	a	testimony	to	the	importance	of	tenacity	—	and	bite	force!Gordon	became	so	acclimated	to	our	presence	that	he	would	accept	insects	from	our	hands.Gordon	and	his	mate	lounge	in	a	staghorn	Fern	with	what	might	have	been	their	offspring	lurking	beneath	a	lower	leaf.

A Highly Anecdotal Account of a Most Remarkable Anole

https://journals.ku.edu/reptilesandamphibians/article/download/16194/14526

A Highly Anecdotal Account of a Most Remarkable Anole

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