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Skipjack Joe
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Location: Bahia Asuncion
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Noosing Lizards
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.
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Paulina
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"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]
\"Well behaved women rarely make history.\" Laurel Thatcher Ulrich
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Skipjack Joe
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Zebra-tailed Lizard
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.
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Skipjack Joe
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| 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.
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Paulina
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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<*)))><
\"Well behaved women rarely make history.\" Laurel Thatcher Ulrich
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pokey
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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.
Keep Mexico weird
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Paulina
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Regarding Cora
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...
\"Well behaved women rarely make history.\" Laurel Thatcher Ulrich
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Paulina
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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 behaved women rarely make history.\" Laurel Thatcher Ulrich
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pokey
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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.
Keep Mexico weird
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Paulina
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This is another of our guides, "Mr. Stinky" showing us yet another painting. He lost his color but not his personality.
\"Well behaved women rarely make history.\" Laurel Thatcher Ulrich
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Neal Johns
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Thanks for remembering your HIW, Paulina. 
Stick Lizards rule!
Good posts, Skipjack.
My motto:
Never let a Dragon pass by without pulling its tail!
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Skipjack Joe
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| 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.
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Paulina
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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.
\"Well behaved women rarely make history.\" Laurel Thatcher Ulrich
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Neal Johns
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My motto:
Never let a Dragon pass by without pulling its tail!
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Paulina
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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.
\"Well behaved women rarely make history.\" Laurel Thatcher Ulrich
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Paulina
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Another of Mr. Stinky.
\"Well behaved women rarely make history.\" Laurel Thatcher Ulrich
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gringorio
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lizard
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.
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gringorio
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Same lizard
after i let it go
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Skipjack Joe
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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.
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allanbartlett
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Location: orange county
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Lizards
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
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