TUCSON CITIZEN (Arizona) 28 May 04 Best to leave monster alone (Linda Stelp)
Kingman (AP): Rice was riding his all-terrain vehicle in the Cerbat Mountains near Chloride when he spotted something few people get to see: a Gila monster, the only venomous lizard found in the United States.
"It was the first time in the 15 years I've lived in Chloride that I have seen one of those," he said of the sighting.
Rice said the large, heavy-bodied, shiny, orange-and-black lizard wheeled around and hissed at him.
Some people would be better off heeding the warning of this native lizard, as Rice did, said Bob Hall, a Bureau of Land Management wildlife biologist.
Hall likes to tell the story of a medical student who asked his instructor, "How do you know it was a Gila monster that bit the victim?
The answer: "Because it's still hanging from his hand."
The Gila monster and the Mexican beaded lizard are the only two species of venomous lizards in the world today.
Gila monsters, which measure 15 to 20 inches long, are found throughout southern Arizona.
The banded subspecies found in Mohave County, west central Arizona, southern Utah and Nevada has distinct black bands around its coral-colored body.
The other subspecies, the reticulated Gila monster, has a black pattern on its yellow or coral-colored body and resides in southern Arizona, Hall said.
It is found in rocky outcrops, usually looking for food: the eggs of ground-nesting birds, small rodents and even newborn jackrabbits.
Though state laws protect the reptiles from capture, Hall cites instances of marked disregard for the law and personal safety.
Recently, a woman tried smuggling a Gila monster into a Flagstaff watering hole by putting it under her sweatshirt.
"Needless to say, the woman was bitten and ended up spending a long time in the hospital recovering," Hall said.
His advice is just to leave the elusive creatures alone.
Although there are no documented deaths from a Gila monster bite in Arizona, it is described as extremely painful.
When bitten, it is important to disengage the lizard as soon as possible, but how to accomplish this is a matter for discussion.
The Arizona Poison and Drug Information Center suggests placing a strong stick between the bite and the back of the lizard's mouth and pushing against the rear of its jaw.
Best to leave monster alone