Photo: Diane Edwardson, March 23, 2009. Alligator Lizard taking the morning sun on the Corralitas Public Staircase. (Click on photo to enlarge.)
Photo: Diane Edwardson, Mach 23, 2009. Perhaps he was hunting the bug on the step to the right. (Click on photo to enlarge.) Nose to tail, the Alligator Lizard was about 11-inches long, or the length of my boot. He quickly ran off when I tried to include my boot for scale.
These lizards can deliver quite a bite when threatened. I once saw one latch onto a friend's finger and not let go. My friend was attempting to move the lizard off the roadway so the lizard wouldn't get run over. Luckily, the friend was experienced with reptiles and managed to gently unlatch the lizard's jaws from his finger.
It's been a busy week for reptile sightings: we've had salamander and snake sightings too.
Send us photos of your urban wildlife encounters in the Corralitas Red Car Neighborhood. Include your name, date and approximate time of photo and what the animal was doing at the time of observation: redcarproperty@gmail.com.
