Sauromalus ater
September 11, 2010: Emigrant Pass, Mojave Desert
After lunch, while a few of us were exploring near camp, I had my absolute favorite moment of the entire trip: this magnificent Chuckwalla. I wasn’t even particularly looking for wildlife, I’d just wandered off from the rest of the group and was in a little rocky area when I noticed the lizard. It was just the two of us for several minutes. I didn’t approach too closely, and the chuckwalla seemed happy enough to cautiously hang around, before it eventually ran to hide in the rocks. What a gorgeous, lizard! And I was grateful for the little bit of privacy, so I could take my time just watching . . . if anyone else had been there, they’d have tried to grab it up, and I wouldn’t have had this leisurely viewing, plus the lizard would have had a much more stressful encounter. Chuckwallas are amazing.
May 14, 2011: Microtower Site, San Bernardino County, CA
Spotted this fantastic, large lizard on rocks along Microtower Road before it quickly scuttled into a crevice in the rock and wedged itself in. A great sighting!
Let me know what you think!