A Florida Native, the Green Anole
Anolis
carolinensis
Photo credit: Walkingfox
The Endangered Reptiles
of Florida
The Florida Lizards
We share our home in the Ocala National Forest
with two types of Lizards, or Anoles;
the green and the brown.
Both are pictured on this page.
These acrobats hang upside down everywhere
in our yard and leap, sometimes quite
great distances, to pounce on a meal.
Frequently the chosen meal is the same size
as the Lizard, or bigger, as in a huge caterpillar.
The Brown one below, has been observed leaping at
birds when he is on a feeder and they land to eat.
The shocked birds, many times its size,
fly off in complete disgust.
Recently, he has been seen on this same feeder
eyeballing a very large butterfly on a nearby flower.
Apparently the Jack Russell of Lizards,
"Big John" lost his tail at least twice before
disappearing,
presumably killed in a scuffle with something.
The beautiful green Lizards, Anoles, the only species Native
to Florida and the United States, are gentle and shy,
but, they are becoming more threatened every day
as they try to fend off the brown invaders.
Cuban Brown Anole
Anolis sagrei sagrei
Photo credit: Walkingfox
The dark brown lizardsare
very aggressive and
will eat most anything, including the green ones.
Water or rain do not seem to bother our Lizards much,
as I have observed them sitting on the front
steps in the rain, as if they enjoy the bath~
Brown Anole hanging onto a window
screen during Tropical Storm Fay.
Photo credit: Walkingfox
Lizards are a nearly perfect insect control in your
yard and they should be appreciated for the
valuable service that they provide us each day.
Please consider using a natural form of pest elimination
and do keep them in mind before putting chemicals
on your yard, which in the end may harm not only
them and our pets, but we humans as well.
A
Green Anole on our garden fence hanging
next
to a Longleaf Pine
needle.
Photo credit: Walkingfox
An environmental factor rarely mentioned in Florida,
is the affect of fertilizers and pesticides on our water supply.
The state of Florida, is basically a giant aquifer,
which means that literally everything we put down
our drains, on our lawns, in our lakes, or down
our gutters, may end up in our drinking water.
Something to consider.
Places to learn more:
Environmental Health News
Watching Florida's Water
Florida Museum of Natural History
Herpetology
Florida Nature
Green Anoles
University of Florida
Florida
Scrub Lizards
Wildherps
Lizards
Walking with the Alligators
Write to Gator Woman
amberziek6 at centurylink.net
Keep Florida Wildlife Wild and Alive~
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Gator-Woman
Educating Visitors About Florida's Wildlife Since June 10, 2008
Last edited March 7, 2021
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