They run like bowlegged cowboys on speed. They hop and jump and stand outside my French doors looking in at me. They perch on the rim of my bike and go round and round when I walk it down the breezeway for my daily ride to the beach. They’re Curly Tailed Lizards.

 

Introduced from the Bahamas, they grow to be about 9” long.  Approach them and they curl their tail like a scorpion and run away.

 

Mostly they hang around near the ground and bask in the sunlight. But sometimes they rest in the shade and watch me watch them.



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Copyright 2008 Diana Taylor
Photo credit: Diana Taylor, Curly Tailed Lizards in my backyard