BajaNomad - Noosing Lizards

Noosing Lizards

Skipjack Joe - 7-25-2005 at 09:27 PM

Noosing lizards can be great fun for kids on a baja trip and can keep them occupied for hours. In addition, it's educational and can develop an interest in herpetology. Last year I showed my son how it's done and this year he was a hero to the kids in Asuncion. They showed him where and he would noose them.

All you need is the top half of an old fly rod or an old unused ultralight spinning rod. You tie one end of 40lb monofilament to the top guide and run the line through the other guides to the handle, where you cut it off. You loosen some of the line at the top guide to form a stiff noose. And that's it.

It's simple. You approach the reptile, guide the noose around it's head, and tighten it. You release the noose, bring the reptile back to your camper and key it out with the Peterson's guide to reptiles and amphibians.

The reason it works is due to focus. Like a camera the animal's eye is focused on you, and the noose, being so close, is a total blur. It just doesn't see it.

We have found southern baja to be more productive than nothern BC. The productive area starts in the Vizcaino desert and proceeds southward. Yes, the Vizcaino desert looks so ... deserted... and yet has a ton of life. Each species has it's own preference but a good place to look is in the brush, under the elephant trees, and under rotting logs.

Alex claims your catch goes up if you sneak up on them on your belly but that's a bit much for me.

If you're ever driving through Loreto stop at the RV campground bathrooms of Tripui. Get out your shaver and face the mirror. Invariably a gecko will appear from behind the mirror and watch your every move. See if you can identify it.

Paulina - 7-25-2005 at 09:38 PM

"Noosing lizards can be great fun for kids on a baja trip and can keep them occupied for hours."

If we're no longer kids, can we still try it? Sounds like fun.

Our dog spends her entire day hunting lizards, refusing food, looking like a homeless canine by the end of our trip because of endless days spent lizard hunting. Good thing she can't hold a fishing pole or we'd be in for trouble.

It's probably a good thing to let the lizards go, or else they would riot, such as the stick lizards that have haunted my HIW, a certain Aridologist I know...

Here's a photo of the Queen of the fearless lizard hunters, Cora. Don't let the crown fool you. She's relentless...

[Edited on 26-7-2005 by Paulina]

Zebra-tailed Lizard

Skipjack Joe - 7-25-2005 at 09:49 PM

He was caught from the bush in the earlier photo. It's now on our camper table where the light isn't optimal for photography. If you flip him over on his back you will see distinctive black and white bars on his tail, which pretty much identifies them.

When alarmed this rascal will raise his tail, get up on it's hind legs, and haul. I don't mean dart from bush to bush. He'll run off 100 feet at a stretch. They like open ground, like dry river beds, but we found them just above the beaches. They're also supposed to be hard to catch, but Alex didn't seem to have much trouble.

That bush next to the campground was full of these guys. The snakes seemed to know of this bounty also. One morning we encountered an inquisitive racer searching for breakfast.

Skipjack Joe - 7-25-2005 at 09:54 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Paulina
Here's a photo of the Queen of the fearless lizard hunters, Cora. Don't let the crown fool you. She's relentless...

[Edited on 26-7-2005 by Paulina]

That's a hilarious picture. I am sure that burger king crown was somehow superimposed on Cora.

Paulina - 7-25-2005 at 09:58 PM

I think that could be the same lizard we saw at our camp. They visited the same rocks every day, displaying a push-up type behavior, then lift one front leg then the other. They would take off fast, running on their back legs when Cora spoted them.

You and Alex sure have the best adventures! Your posts would be perfect for a Baja Kid's Forum.

P<*)))><

pokey - 7-25-2005 at 10:01 PM

Are lizards edible? This might seem like a totally strange question but I see lizards in the back country by the hundreds. Free foood always appeals to me. Anyone ever eat one of these things? I'm guessing that they taste like chicken.

Regarding Cora

Paulina - 7-25-2005 at 10:01 PM

Unfortunately, much to Cora's dismay, the crown was not superimposed. Our daugher had a "sick day" today and these photos are a result of being left alone with the dogs...

Paulina - 7-25-2005 at 10:09 PM

Look at this pretty boy with his blue striped tail, green body and yellow head. He was our guide at the Montevideo paintings.

[Edited on 26-7-2005 by Paulina]

pokey - 7-25-2005 at 10:09 PM

Dogs rule.... I wonder if I could train ours to catch lizards? Somebody please tell me that lizards taste as good or better than surf perch.

Paulina - 7-25-2005 at 10:12 PM

This is another of our guides, "Mr. Stinky" showing us yet another painting. He lost his color but not his personality.

Neal Johns - 7-25-2005 at 10:55 PM

Thanks for remembering your HIW, Paulina.

Stick Lizards rule!

Good posts, Skipjack.

Skipjack Joe - 7-25-2005 at 11:00 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Paulina
Look at this pretty boy with his blue striped tail, green body and yellow head. He was our guide at the Montevideo paintings.

[Edited on 26-7-2005 by Paulina]

Well, what do we have here? That certainly is a pretty one. I looked through my guide and never saw anything quite like it in baja. Are the Montevideo paintings in baja? Maybe Osprey can identify it. I believe he kept them as pets when he was younger.

Mr. Stinky on the other hand looks like a chuckawalla. I wanted Alex to see one of these because of their large size but we're never in the right country. Tell me where Mr. Stinky lives.

Speaking of chuckawalla, Pokey, I believe the Indians ate their tails. And if it was good then it must still taste good now. There are desert iguanas around baja that may also be edible although I think they are too small.

Large iguanas, like the ones on the mainland seem to exist in parts of baja. I saw one in the orchards near Vizcaino one year. This year Alex saw a giant lizard perched on a milestone at the outskirts of Santa Rosalia that could only have been an iguana.

Paulina - 7-25-2005 at 11:03 PM

Kneal,
How could I EVER forget you??!! Not in a thousand lifetimes...

Mr. Stinky was also a stick lizard, but his stick was used in a different fashion. We found him very dead, resting on a rock ledge. True to form, a stick was situated up his tail and a lizard pointer was soon at my finger tips. He is now living happliy ever after Stateside with his girlfriend Betty in her HiLow.

Neal Johns - 7-25-2005 at 11:08 PM

Paulina - 7-25-2005 at 11:17 PM

Yes Skipjack Joe, Montevideo is in Baja. We found this colorful lizard at the paintings, hanging on the side of the rock wall. I'm sorry that my photos didn't do his colors justice. His tail was blue, his body green and his head yellow.
I'm not sure what Mr. Stinky was as he was pretty dried up where we found him at his final resting place.

Paulina - 7-25-2005 at 11:26 PM

Another of Mr. Stinky.

lizard

gringorio - 7-26-2005 at 07:42 AM

I've never tried catching lizards with a noose, but have always enjoyed the challenge of catching them by hand. I caught this one to show to some little kids... They were both scared and fascinated by it.

Same lizard

gringorio - 7-26-2005 at 07:44 AM

after i let it go

Skipjack Joe - 7-26-2005 at 09:13 AM

It looks as though the tail is regenerating on that one.

Thanks for the picture. Could be a desert iguana by the looks of it. You're much faster than me. I could never catch them by hand.

I learned about noosing in a desert biology class years ago. I was on the herpetology team and we traveled across all three major deserts in North America and identified their inhabitants. One of the most enjoyable classes I ever took. A couple of students on my team actually fell in love on this trip and married. We came up with nicknames for each other. She was 'Lizard Liz' and he was 'Beetle Ed'. He was given that name because he downed a live beetle pupae on a dare. Claimed it was just protein. Said you could buy chocolate covered beetles in Chinatown. That really impressed us.... And, I guess, her.

Lizards

allanbartlett - 7-26-2005 at 10:52 AM

The bluish lizard is called a Baja Blue Rock Lizard. They are mainly found in the lower third of the peninsula. If anyone wants to pursue baja herping further, I recommend Lee Grismer's book published a few years ago. It has an exhustive listing of the native Baja reptiles & Amphibians

postman - 7-27-2005 at 07:19 AM

While on the subject of lizards, are there Horned lizards (horny toads) in the lower Baja?

capn.sharky - 7-27-2005 at 09:00 AM

At the Bar El Messie in Loreto, I met a horny toad. He kept buying the girls drinks. He finally drank so much himself, he turned color and disappeared. I think he was trying to noose a large breasted bar lizzard.

Dave - 7-27-2005 at 09:19 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by capn.sharky
At the Bar El Messie in Loreto, I met a horny toad. He kept buying the girls drinks. He finally drank so much himself, he turned color and disappeared. I think he was trying to noose a large breasted bar lizzard.

Large breasts and a forked tongue. A horny toads fantasy come true.

I have seen many horned toads in Baja-----

Barry A. - 7-27-2005 at 01:07 PM

real ones, that is, and they were not in a BAR. (-:

Neal Johns - 7-27-2005 at 05:51 PM

postman,
A few years ago, I watched a Horny Toad alongside a two-track road west of Mulege sitting next to a red ant hill having lunch.

ursidae69 - 8-12-2005 at 02:50 PM

I don't check the board here as often as I should. This thread caught my eye, really cool. I'm an amatuer herpetologist myself and have a lot of fun noosing lizards in Baja when i go.

I last went in March 2005 with 5 other biologists and we caught a ton of lizards. Photos can be seen on my webpage with the full trip report.

http://www.chucksweb.net/Trips/2005/BajaMar2005/BajaMar2005.htm

The nature you get down in Baja is just amazing.

[Edited on 7-8-2007 by ursidae69]

One of the best reports and pics.

jrbaja - 8-12-2005 at 03:51 PM

that I have ever seen on here. MuchasGracias

gringorio - 8-12-2005 at 05:12 PM

Likewise, great report and photos ursidae69... Thanks!

dug - 8-12-2005 at 10:30 PM

Paulina's lizard appears to be a Collared Lizard. Crotaphytus Collaris. The band behind the head is the collar.

Tom Jones, a collared lizard breeder in Escondido, often accompanies our Biology Field Lab and manages to find several differently colored collared lizards around Bahia de Los Angeles each year.

Sharksbaja - 8-13-2005 at 12:01 AM

I love lizards, never had a problem with them. Use to catch Horned Toads in El Segundo up in the dunes. Thanks for bringing them up.

Don Jorge - 8-13-2005 at 05:54 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by ursidae69

The nature you get down in Baja is just amazing.

Indeed it is and your report is pretty amazing also. Thanks for sharing!

BajaNomad - 8-13-2005 at 07:40 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by allanbartlett
...I recommend Lee Grismer's book published a few years ago. It has an exhustive listing of the native Baja reptiles & Amphibians

If you do a search on the 'net, Grismer's work is apparently well respected and referred to very often.

Not an inexpensive book:

http://tienda.bajanomad.com/cgi-bin/tienda.cgi?item_id=05202...

--
Doug

bajajudy - 8-13-2005 at 07:52 AM

Terrific report...thanks

synch - 8-13-2005 at 09:00 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by pokey
Are lizards edible? This might seem like a totally strange question but I see lizards in the back country by the hundreds. Free foood always appeals to me. Anyone ever eat one of these things? I'm guessing that they taste like chicken.

What BBQ sauce is best for these?

Taste like chicken?

Neal Johns - 8-13-2005 at 09:45 AM

Nope, tastes like rattlesnake.

Sweet Baby Ray's barbeque sauce, works on any meat, sweet.

Great report and website.

ursidae69 - 8-14-2005 at 10:33 AM

Thanks for the comments on my trip report! :biggrin:

I hope to get to Baja again this fall, always wanted to do a fall trip and try to see the whale sharks. My Spring 04 trip report has quite a few herps in it too. I agree about Grismer's book, I don't go to Baja without it!

Oso - 8-14-2005 at 11:54 AM

Come to Yuma and noose Flat-tailed Horned Lizards. Noose ALL the little bastards. That is, if you can actually find any. :mad:

Bob H - 8-14-2005 at 12:12 PM

This is really good stuff, a great report and photos....

Example:

"Once we paddled out past the protection of the island and were in full force of the winds, I got scared. The waves were really big and white-capping. The wind made the yak hard to control and it seemed apparent to me that trying to paddle through three miles of these huge waves would be extremely difficult and dangerous. The water was cold and if we did roll one of the yaks, we'd have to somehow get back in else hypothermia could set in. I told Bruce that I thought this was a bad idea and I was uncomfortable with the idea of going across. He agreed and we paddled back to the island.

Once back at the island we climbed up the ridgeline to see how Randy was fairing in the waves. He made it across, but it was about then that we realized that most of our gear was on the boat and we also realized that we didn't really communicate with Randy about the fact that we may head back to the island. I'm sure everyone at camp was worried about how we were doing. Every year people die in kayak accidents in the Sea of Cortez, now I know why. We realized that we might have to stay the night and all we had were the clothes on our back, one set of binos, a gallon of water, and a few cliff bars. Unfortunately, we also had no way to start a fire. This was looking sort of grim. We watched through the binos as Randy refueled his little boat, he was going to try to come back for us!! We all hoped he would wait and not try to come in the wind, but he did anyway. A brave effort I have to say. We watched in horror as he tried to get through the surf, fighting the wind. At one point we saw the little boat stand straight up on end and the wind whipped it 180 degrees facing back toward shore. Right about then we saw Randy pull out the oars and start paddling back to shore. He must have damaged the motor. In a few minutes he had made it to shore and we could see that the boat was swamped and he had a real struggle getting back on the beach."

Wow

[Edited on 8-14-2005 by Bob H]