Johnny: me and my uncle saw a giant like iguana type lizard that was bluish green head and yellowish type neck..it was by the sheep corral..everytime is see iguana it reminds me of that..we told our grandma and she said that lizard comes around only every 100 yrs [Actually the reports are easily more common than once a century. BUT this might indicate it takes a long time to grow so large]
the lizard me and my uncle saw was on side of hill..the top area was sheep corral and was kinda sandy, but side of the hill was lotta big flat rocks sticking out..the trees in the area a small round trees..I dont know the English name of them but only in Navajo I know the name..but we use the dried up tree droppings as cedar for our cerimonial fireplace..look like trees around Chama, NM. we were running back from the sheep and we usually jump off the rocks into sand and it was layed out on the rock..long neck, bluish greenish head, yellowish neck, and [The back]was wide..[The neck had what ]looks like a type fins...[The skin]was smooth..it was very still..didnt budge as we stopped and looked at it..we got scared and ran off..supposly lizard only comes around every 100yrs...but I remember it turning its head sideways to look at us..the neck was long [and sticking high up]
..my uncle just started his facebook account..you could talk to him too...we even have the lizards that have that flap around the neck like umbrella that run along the fence like the ones you see in austrailia..their small like only 3-4ft in height...4 is pushing it..but every now and then you see them running
we just put up mile long barbwire fence to block off our new zone part of the land and we usually see the little lizards that you see in austrailia running on the hind legs and unbrella type of neck..short and very fast..looks like it flaps its neck to run faster..and its by the sheep corral too..i dont know why these little guys hang around the sheep corrals
Dale: Maybe they are waiting to eat the placentas of new lambs? [Said be true of the Almas]
J. we only see them running along the barb wire fence when we get close to the sheep corral..ususally the placentas are not even there when the lambs are born cuz it happens at night..unless the lizards jump..but theres 5 sheep herding dogs so if anything we hear it all..my guess is they collect hay [=Eat grass] and live under the big flat rocks from the hills
i dont know if lizards eat prarie dogs but there is tons of them in the area as well
D: I think it may be only coincidental they are seen around the sheep pens, but it is true I had heard they do that independantly. Prairie dogs are possible prey, they are small enough to be easily handled. Perhaps the hide in old prairie dog tunnels?
J: they could cuz they not that big..when i see them in books and on tv they make them look huge when in fact their actually small...theres a small hill which is covered with lava rocks and lotta crevaces in the rocks that are stuck together..we were thinking they stay in there ·
D:They say they hide out in lava rocks when there are similar reports in Argentina-Chile ·
D:They say they hide out in lava rocks when there are similar reports in Argentina-Chile ·
J; really? i didnt know that..but theres a lava type hill behind where we live..it looks like it was a vent long ago..theres tons of black widows too..I was thinking maybe the widows could be a food source too 6:49 AM
D:There's a good chance, and they might be looking for bugs in the sheep droppings, too, I had thought of that idea before but I wanted to see if you said something similar 6:50 AM
J: there is also a lotta trantulas crossing the roads 6:55 AM
D: How did you want me to introduce you on the blog?
J: I can be identified as johnny becenti
D: Thank you Johnny, I'm sure it will be a good one.7:00 AM
D:There's a good chance, and they might be looking for bugs in the sheep droppings, too, I had thought of that idea before but I wanted to see if you said something similar 6:50 AM
J: there is also a lotta trantulas crossing the roads 6:55 AM
D: How did you want me to introduce you on the blog?
J: I can be identified as johnny becenti
D: Thank you Johnny, I'm sure it will be a good one.7:00 AM
I grew up on a farm raising sheep and I don't think the lizards would be after the placentas since ewes usually eat them a few minutes after expelling them. The lizards are more likely after the mice and rats that hang around the pens looking for hay and grain in the feeders as well as water in the stock tanks. We used to find rat nests in the hay stacks and would have to seal the grain bins to keep them out. I was always having to fish drowned rats out of the stock tanks. They probably have rats nesting in the hay, a nearby barn or in the rocks he describes making it ideal hunting habitat for snakes and lizards.
ReplyDeleteThank you Les. The part about Placentas had been suggested in a different case I had read about in Russia, and for some reason it was the first thing that came to mind. The idea that rats, mice, spiders and bugs are coming around to eat the sheep's feed (and possibly also the droppings) seems much more likely now.And in other cases, I definitely think the smaller lizards are raiding henhouses and eating eggs
ReplyDeleteBest Wishes, Dale D.
I remember when I was a little girl living on the Navajo Indian reservation, I was outside playing in the desert near a small arroyo full of tumbleweeds, when I saw a blue-green scaled lizard standing on it's hind legs...much like the pictures I'd seen in dinosaur books. It had a metallic sheen to it and the scales would turn from blue to green depending on how the sun shone on it. It raised up higher on it's hind feet like a startled chicken (and even moved like one)and preceded to run toward the arroyo. It looked like a pint-sized Tyranosaurus rex and ran extremely fast with it's tail lifted up off the ground. It's gait was very smooth, much like watching a roadrunner run...
ReplyDeleteGetting over my initial shock of seeing such a large unusual lizard (it stood over a foot tall when standing), I chased it into the tumbleweeds. There must've been a hole down there under all those weeds because it never came out even as I threw rocks. Later I came home and told my mom and aunts about it and I sure did get a lecture on leaving the lizard alone! They called it the Green Lizard and they told me that I was lucky it didn't attack me, because when it attacks, it jumps very high and latches onto your upper body and begins to try biting in the area of the heart. I have never seen this lizard in any biology or herpetology books and I am beginning to think that it has not been discovered yet. Navajo elders know of its existence though, but they don't like to talk about it.