Wild Facts

Photo by Azhikerdude (Wikimedia)

Now that the partying from the weekend festivities is completely over, well it should be by now, it is time to get serious about our Wild Facts. Okay, I am just messing with you, I am not usually known for being serious. In fact, I chose today’s animal simply because I loved saying its name. Go ahead and say Chuckwalla! Fun, isn’t it? To me it sounds like a bad cross between  a Chumbawamba and Dishwalla song but it is entertaining, just like “Tubthumping”. In fact, this song would be perfect considering how many people probably had a few drinks this past weekend. Let’s take a short break to listen to this one hit wonder and reconvene in 3 minutes and 42 seconds.

See, it is a horrible song but incredibly entertaining.  Now where were we?  Oh yeah the Chuckwalla! The Chuckwalla is a large lizard, which is part of the Iguana family and is commonly found in the Southern USA and Northern Mexico. Much like the Wart Snake, they also have a lot of loose skin, which forms folds around their neck and sides of their body. Perhaps they are also trying to hide a bulky stomach?

When a Chuckwalla is threatened they will typically run away, which is a smart strategy. If the simple run away method doesn’t work they will actually lodge themselves into the crevice of a rock and inflate their stomach by gulping in air.  This is incredibly fascinating and ensures that the predator will not be able to pull out their scrumptious dinner. How about that, another animal that is conscious about their weight and tries hard to hide it so they can fit in.

Photo from Wikimedia

The male Chuckwalla is pretty territorial during certain times of the year and will typically try all kinds of things to defend his special territory. For example they will do push-ups, bob their head and widely open their mouth all in an attempt to warn other lizards to back off.  To me, it just sounds like a normal day at the gym. You think with all those push-ups they wouldn’t have to worry about a few extra pounds.

Okay, so that does it for Reptile Tuesdays.  Actually, we have been talking about reptiles all week. I will make sure to mix things up for Wednesday’s Wild Fact so make sure you tune in.  Enjoy the rest of your day.

Photo by Keith Pomakis (Wikimedia)

Happy New Year Everyone!  Welcome to the first Wild Fact of 2011.  I guarantee this year of Wild Facts will be entertaining and educational as we inch closer and closer to the number one Wild Fact.  We still have a few facts to go so let’s get started with the Spiny Tailed Iguana.  Luckily to learn about this animal we are going to take a nice winter trip to Mexico and Central America where they are native residents.  I suppose we could also head to Florida or Texas since they were introduced in these states but I would prefer to see their native habitat.

The Spiny Tailed Iguana is closely related to its cousin, the Green Iguana (aren’t most cousins closely related?).   Unlike their cousin some species of the Spiny Tailed Iguana are more aggressive than the Green Iguana so they don’t all do well as pets.  Let’s take a look at a few of the other differences so you don’t accidentally end up with an angry house pet.  Don’t worry though you should still be able to tell them apart fairly easily. The most obvious difference are the spiny scales that run along the entire length of their tail.  I am going to guess this is how they received their name.  They also have a longer crest on their back then most of their cousins but I just recommend checking for the spiny rings on the tail.

If you do end up with one of these Iguanas for a pet then you need to know what they enjoy eating, right?  Typically, the young Spiny Tailed Iguana feeds on insects while the adults become mainly herbivores feasting on fruits and vegetation.  This herbivore diet must work out for them since these iguanas use this energy to run awfully fast.  It is a Spiny Tailed Iguana that holds the world record in the Lizard Sprint category.  I have no idea who went around and clocked the speed of different lizards but I do know the Spiny Tailed Iguana was the winner with a speed of 34.6 km/h (25.5 mph).  This is why it is important to eat your vegetables, kids.

That does it for the first fact of 2011.  Make sure you saunter on over this way tomorrow for the second fact of the year.  See you tomorrow.

Photo by Stephen G. Johnson

Happy Tuesday everyone!  I hope you are enjoying your day so far and are ready to learn about an interesting reptile.  I figured it has been awhile since we talked about a cool reptile so today we are learning about the Rhinoceros Iguana. No it isn’t related to the rhinoceros, although that would be pretty impressive.  Actually it gets this name because of the bony plate “pseudo-horn” growing out of its head.  I know, I wish it was because it was the size of rhino or something cool like that but we will just have to settle for a “pseudo-horn”.

The Rhinoceros Iguana can be found in the Dominican Republic and Haiti so it prefers the nice tropical locations. The Rhinoceros Iguana is not much different than other iguanas as far as their diet is concerned.  They are omnivores but focus their efforts feeding on fruit, leaves and other plant matter.  They will mix it up occasionally and feed on insects and small mammals so keep your pet beetle on a leash when you are in Rhino Iguana territory (I don’t know what’s wrong with me, it’s late!)

As with the males in other species (including humans) the Rhinoceros Iguana generally has to try hard to get the attention of a suitable mate.  They will have an elaborate courting dance which includes head bobbing and erecting the spines along their back.  For the record, it is not known for sure what the horns do but they believe they somehow play a role in this courting behaviour.  The Rhinoceros Iguana doesn’t just save their unique spine trick and head bobbing behaviour just for getting the attention of a lovely mate.  In fact when threatened the Rhinoceros Iguana will try a variety of elaborate head and neck movements to make themselves look bigger.  I am not sure how well it works but considering these iguanas are still around, I would say they are doing a find job tricking their predators.

Rhinoceros Iguana Fast Fact – The Rhinoceros Iguana are more terrestrial than some of the other iguana species.  This gives them the advantage for living in a rocky and dry climate.  These little guys will rarely been seen hanging out in trees or forested areas for that matter.

Well that is it for today.  I hope you all enjoyed the fact!