Gila Monster - Baby

Gila Monsters are venomous lizards -- the only venomous lizard in the United States. They typically grow to about 20 - 22 inches long and a little over a pound in weight. Their conservation status is "Near Threatened" and protected by law in Arizona. It is illegal to kill, capture, or disturb Gila Monsters.

They spend most of their life underground, only coming out of their burrows to eat and mate. Mating usually occurs in April and May. The female lays eggs in July or August with a nine month incubation period. So hatchlings emerge in the April - June timeframe. Hatchlings are about 6-7 inches long when they emerge.

And such it was with the little guy that crawled by my office last week:

Gila Monster Hatchling

We know Gila Monsters live on our property although we don't see them every year. But, this little guy obviously was born on our property. (Those are pomegranate flowers on the ground next to the lizard).

Guests had reported seeing an adult Gila Monster the day before over by our Catalina Guest House, which is where we usually see them.

Now a word about the danger of being bitten. Although the venom is as toxic as a coral snake,  the Gila Monster only produces a small amount. Unlike rattlesnakes that have fangs and inject its venom into prey, the Gila Monster's venom is produced by glands in the upper jaw and transferred to the prey by chewing.

There have been no deaths resulting from Gila Monster bites since 1939. Prior to 1939 there are accounts of Gila Monster "attacks" many of which seem greatly exaggerated: In the Tombstone Epitaph  on May 14, 1881 (the year of the Gunfight at the OK Corral) it was reported that a 27 inch "35 pound" Gila Monster was caught by H.C. Hait. 

In another account:

"On May 8, 1890, Empire Ranch owner Walter Vail captured and thought he had killed a Gila monster. He tied it to his saddle and it bit the middle finger of his right hand and wouldn't let go. A ranch hand pried open the lizard's mouth with a pocketknife, cut open his finger to stimulate bleeding, and then tied saddle strings around his finger and wrist. They summoned Dr. John C. Handy of Tucson, who took Vail back to Tucson for treatment, but Vail experienced swollen and bleeding glands in his throat for sometime afterward."

Wild West Magazine published an article three years ago about Hollywood's fascination with Gila Monsters in "Godzilla type" movies.  In one movie there was a poster with a Gila Monster the size of a school bus. (As a reality check, the article included one of my Gila Monster photos).

Gila Monsters are very slow moving. The don't strike like a rattlesnake, i.e. can't jump 4 - 6 feet. You would pretty much have to pick one up and stick your finger in it's mouth, but nonetheless caution is the rule of the day when -- if -- you see one.

Hiking and Birding Sabino Canyon

Yesterday, Christine and I hiked Sabino Canyon up to the dam where we birded for a hour or so. Then further up the creek another mile, across the creek to the tram road and back down to the parking area.

Did I find the Louisiana Waterthrush I was looking for? In a word no. But, as is often the case, I came home pretty happy. 

A nice 4 1/2 foot long Western Diamondback Rattlesnake

A youngish Gila Monster

A lovely male Broad Billed Hummingbird happily drinking from a Sacred Datura

A beautiful Townsend's Warbler

A sweet little Verdin

And a needed bit of exercise.

Here are some photos:

Western Diamondback Rattlesnake

Gila Monster

Male Broad Billed Hummingbird

Townsend's Warbler

Verdin

Gila Monster Time

Gila Monsters spend much of their time under ground (up to 10 months a year). So when we see one it is a treat. They are venomous so you must be careful. They are also protected by law. It is illegal to pick one up, have one as a pet, or kill one. Last week Christine and I were coming home after a hike in Saguaro National Park and found one on a back road. We stopped and I was able to get some nice photos:

Full length with tongue protruding:

Gila Monster

Close Up and Personal:

Gila Monster

 Finally getting off the road and into the grass:

Gila Monster

 Then a couple of days ago our neighbor called me because there was a Gila Monster in her kitchen. (She likes to leave the door open). So I went over to help it find the outside where he belonged. Here is a photo of the Gila Monster just after I got it out the door (with a broom):

Gila Monster

Gila Monster --- II

I have one other "5" Star Gila Monster Photo. This one was taken here at The Azure Gate. I was sitting in my office when I saw something slowly crawling across the driveway. So I grabbed my camera and went to see. Yep, a Gila Monster. He continued to the center of the driveway where we have a 125+ year old Saguaro that used to have a Creosote Bush under it. I had cut away the Creosote so it left a little "chair" for the Gila Monster to sit on. I laid down (several feet away) and took the following photo:

Gila Monster

Gila Monster: Docile but Deadly

I am up and about after my cochlear Implant surgery. The external equipment (processor and remote) won't be added until the surgical area heals completely. So, still six weeks before I can start hearing again. 

In the meantime, I will get back to my posts of "5" Star Photos.  Continuing alphabetically we come to the Gila Monster.  Although its venom is just as deadly as a rattlesnake, the Gila Monster is a shy, docile, slow moving lizard that secrets its venom from its lower jaw into its prey as it chews. So, the more it chews on its prey, the more venom. 

Dr. Ward, of Phoenix, an old practitioner in the valley, says: “I have never been called to attend a case of Gila monster bite, and I don’t want to be. I think a man who is fool enough to get bitten by a Gila monster ought to die. The creature is so sluggish and slow of movement that the victim of its bite is compelled to help largely in order to get bitten.”

—Arizona Graphic
September 23, 1899

We have at least one that lives on our property though we rarely see it. (every two or three years). It stays underground most of the time. We have had guests see it twice so far this year -- although I haven't.

The Gila Monster is protected so it is illegal to pick up, keep, or kill one. The photo below was taken at Saguaro National Park where there have been two Gila Monster bites recorded in the Park's history. Neither resulted in death, but in both cases severe vomiting, pain, and swelling occurred, resulting in hospitalization and treatment.

Gila Monster

A Big Thank You!!

It all started three years ago today. My first post on my first blog site. In those three years I have had 63,206 visitors. While not exactly Julie/Julia territory, I am nonetheless thankful for all of those who chose to visit. And, while I am aware that it is the "World Wide Web", I have been stunned that I have gotten so many visitors from Russia, Germany, India, Australia, The Netherlands, France and Mexico. The leading three are the U.S., Canada, and the U.K. which is not quite as surprising because they make up the lion's share of our B&B guests. There are several very faithful visitors who mention something to me on the phone or through email. And, there are a few faithful that comment frequently on my site including Rohrerbot who inspires me to continue.

As for the posts themselves, here are the most frequented pages:

Yellowstone National Park: 2005 Page Views, 11/29/2009
Cinnamon Black Bear

Prickly Pear Cactus Blossoms: 818 Page Views, 4/26/10
Prickly Pear Cactus in Bloom

Eating: Carnivores: 790 Page Views, 6/30/10
Grey Wolf

Gila Monster: 569 Page Views, 5/4/10
Gila Monster

Black Bear Scolding: 524 Page Views, 11/30/9
Black Bear with Cuibs

Thank you all again.

Dennis

Lizards - Part III

Lizards for the most part are harmless and the fact that they eat bugs certainly is in there favor. The Gila Monster is the only venomous lizard in the U.S. and one of only two in North America. It grows to about 2 feet but is very slow moving and docile. Unlike rattlesnakes that inject venom through their fangs, the Gila Monster just secrets its venom into its own mouth which in turn gets into its prey once bitten. There are some comic books and movies (from the 1930's) of Gila Monsters the size of an automobile terrorizing towns just like Godzilla. But, truth be told, you would have to pick one up and stick your finger in its mouth before it would bite you. Nonetheless Gila Monsters are protected and you can't touch them, keep them as pets, or kill them. Here are a few more lizard photos, starting with the Gila Monster.

Gila Monster (The Azure Gate)

Great Basin Collard Lizard (Florida Mountains, Southwestern New Mexico)

Greater Earless Lizard (The Azure Gate)

Lesser Earless Lizard (Chiricahua Mountains, Arizona)

Ornate Tree Lizard (Agua Caliente, Arizona)

Gila Monster

Yesterday was an interesting day. Aside from a plumbing problem (that is not yet resolved) we had some visitors of note: Desert Kingsnake, Sonoran Gopher Snake, Coyote, and Tarantula. Our guests hiked in Sabino Canyon and came across a Gila Monster. These are not everyday sightings, like the Desert Cottontails of which I see four at this very moment, along with a dozen or more Gambels Quail, Mourning Doves, and White Winged Doves, and a pair of Anna's Hummingbirds.  (The rabbits are now chasing each other. They are fun to watch.)

I mentioned the Gila Monster sighting partly because I have a Gila Monster photo in this month's "Wild West" Magazine. It is a wonderful article on the myth's and history of the Gila Monster. (The cover article is on Pat Garrett). The Gila Monster is on the endangered species list. It is illegal to kill or capture one. While many people who live in Tucson have never seen one, we are fortunate to have them here on our property. Christine saw a Gila Monster last week while escorting some writer friends through Saguaro National Park. That doesn't mean we seen them often. They spend 90% of their time underground. So when we do see one, it is exciting.

Here are a few photos:

Gila Monster in Sabino Canyon

Gila Monster in the Galliuro Mountains

Gila Monster in Saguaro National Park

My First Gila Monster -- at The Azure Gate

Last of the Lizards (for now)

We had a Gila Monster around a couple of days ago, which one of our guest was able to see. This particular photo though was taken in Saguaro National Park. I lay down on my stomach, using elbows as tripods to take the photo. The second photo is the Stripped Plateau Lizard which is only found in the Chiricahua Mountains of Arizona. As you can imagine I was thrilled at finding him. Well, maybe thrilled isn't the right word. Happy. Yeh, that works. The third photo is the Tucson Banded Gecko. He was on our oasis patio. Again, lying down to take the photo worked best. We don't see them often. And this was the largest I've seen; about six inches (including tail). I have seen several little ones. One seemed to live in our birdseed storage cabinet for awhile. Another lived in the swimming pool electrical control box. They are cute little guys. This brings us to the end of the lizards for now. I think I have shown you all of the different lizards I have photographed. Anything new comes up I'll let you know.

Gila Monster

We had guests last week that saw a Gila Monster outside their guest house.  It is that time of the year. Gila Monsters normally stay underground most of the year. They come out in late spring to search for a mate. A couple of years ago, while sitting in my office, I looked out the window and saw one crawling slowly across the driveway. I grabbed my camera and went out to get a photo. Although venomous, they don't inject their venom in their prey like rattlesnakes. They clamp down on their prey more like a crocodile, and then secret venom into their mouth which then gets into the prey. Gila Monsters are quite beautiful and easy to photograph if you are ever lucky enough to find one. Many people who have lived in Tucson for 30 years have never seen one. In the middle of the circular part of our driveway there is a large 100+ year old saguaro, a 100+ year old palo verde, and the stump of a mesquite tree that was cut down.  I followed the Gila Monster to this area where he climbed up onto the mesquite stump and just sat there. So, I lay down in front of him and started snapping photos. Here's one of those photos.

Saguaro National Park

We have some very nice guests from Charleston, South Carolina with us this week who are headed over to Saguaro National Park today. SNP is five minutes from us and has some amazing Saguaros. It is not unusual to see saguaros with 15 to 20 arms. The most in the park is 42 arms. SNP also has an incredible trail system. When we don't have much time Christine and I do a quick 2.2 mile loop. There is a wide variety of desert wildlife. In our many hikes in the park we have seen: nesting harris hawks, coyotes, white tail and mule  deer, black tail jackrabbits, desert cottontails, desert tortoise, desert kingsnakes, rattlesnakes, at least six different varieties of lizards, squirrels, desert wood rats, AND this beautiful gila monster. Gila monsters are quite venomous. However, instead of injecting their venom, like a rattlesnake, they bite and hold their prey in their jaws and secret the venom into their mouth cavity and thus prey. They are very slow moving for a lizard so relatively easy to photograph -- if you find one. We have known people living in Tucson for 30 years who have never seen one. Yet, we have seen them at The Azure Gate,  Sabino Canyon, Muleshoe, as well as SNP.