MOHAVE DAILY NEWS (bullhead City, Arizona) 10 April 06 No longer on tribal menus, Chuckwallas now threatened by would-be pet owners (M.J. Smith)
Bullhead City: Crouched in the crevice of a warm red rock, the Chuckwalla inhales air into its lungs, inflating to three times its normal size, in hopes of entrenching itself far enough into the crack that removal is impossible.
To counteract this proven defense mechanism, American Indian hunters of the Southwest would pop them with sticks to dislodge the succulent lizards, Nevada Department of Wildlife biologist Christy Klinger said.
Their name, which is believed to come from the Shoshone word “tcaxxwal” or Cahuilla “caxwal” was transcribed by the Spanish as Chacahuala, adding further evidence to the long relationship between this lizard and native peoples.
No longer hunted to feed the tribe, the second largest lizard in the United States is now nearing dangerously low numbers in some areas because of their appeal as pets and habitat destruction, Klinger said.
“People like to have lizards as pets,” she said. “The Chuckwalla is attractive because of its size and the fact that it is herbivorous, it only eats fruit and vegetables.”
Often seen sprawled on boulders in the rocky desert areas of Utah, Nevada, California, Arizona and Northern Mexico, the Chuckwalla is a timid lizard who will usually retreat from predators rather than stand its ground, Klinger said.
The sedate Chuckwalla basking in the sun on a warm rock in the desert Southwest makes a tasty picture for hawks, owls, coyotes, foxes, snakes and other small predators.
Possessive against other Chuckwallas, males defend the territorial area that provides food for them and one to five females, Arizona Game and Fish Department Amphibians and Reptile Program Manager Tom Jones said.
“They defend their territories by a series of displays to other males, including head bobbing, push-ups and gaping of the mouth,” Jones said. “They will sometimes engage in fighting and biting.”
Proving that size does matter, the Chuckwalla hierarchy is usually distributed by size and in experiments females have demonstrated a preference for brighter, larger males in a population, he said.
“This is called sexual selection,” Jones said. “Think peacock versus peahen.”
Because of their size, averaging 18 inches long, and coloring, the Chuckwalla is often mistaken for a Gila monster.
“This is especially true with juvenile species,” Klinger said. “Young lizards usually have bright yellow bands on a dark body that fade as they get older. But, I think anyone who has ever seen a Gila Monster would not be confused.”
A member of the Iguana family, the Common Chuckwalla found in the Southwest is but one of five species in the Sauromalus genus.
The largest species, the San Esteban Island or Piebald Chuckwalla, is found only on San Esteban Island and Isla Roca Lobos in the Sea of Cortez (Gulf of California).
There is an ongoing study at the Arizona Sonora Desert Museum in Tucson concerning the Piebald Chuckwalla. Home to a large breeding colony, behavior and reproductive biology is being studied in hopes of understanding this distant relative.
Chuckwallas now threatened by would-be pet owners