A Northern Alligator Lizard caught on camera in Tappen.
Image Credit: SUBMITTED/ Jeremy Hachey
September 24, 2023 - 6:00 AM
Tappen resident Jeremy Hachey was riding his bike earlier this week when he stopped to shoo a strange looking reptile off a quiet road and he took a video of it wiggling away.
“It was clearly soaking up heat from the pavement and even though it’s not a high traffic road, sometimes I see snakes and lizards smooshed there so I shooed him off,” he said.
The reptile was a Northern Alligator Lizard, and while Hachey said he has seen others in the same area before, he always enjoys a chance to watch them.
“When I first saw him he was straight as an arrow, the way they suddenly move back and forth is pretty funny,” he said. “We’re fortunate to live in a spot with lots of wildlife.”
The lizards are small with long bodies, short legs and triangular heads that make them look like tiny alligators, according to BC Reptiles & Amphibians. They grow up to 20 centimetres in length and feed on a wide variety of insects.
When threatened the reptiles run and hide but if a lizard is caught it will release feces and musky odours, bite or drop their tail off to distract predators and allow them to escape. The tail grows back shorter and wider.
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The lizards hibernate in underground dens in the winters and stay close to the same site year round. They are able to tolerate cooler, wetter habitats than most lizards so are found across a diverse range. Mating starts as soon as the lizards emerge in spring where a male will chase down a female and grasp her head in his jaws and begin mating. The females give birth to roughly five young every two years.
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Northern Alligator Lizards are found throughout southern BC.
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