In Honor of Lizards


This a poem one of my wonderfully talented roommates wrote for me as a Christmas present this year and, as it is also about lizards I thought I might share it with you. Enjoy.

In Honor of Lizards

for Anne 
(that's me...when I'm not being Hopeful Herpetologist)

Some might think it odd that Anne
Should choose to make her future plan
Involving certain small reptilians
But truly there are many millions
Of cogent reasons (as we’ll find)
Why all should love the lizard kind.

They’re small and quiet, quick and neat
Excepting, maybe, when they eat
Each other. Yes, sometimes they tend
To gobble up a smaller friend
And you’ll sometimes see them trot about
With half their lunch still sticking out.

But if that less than wholesome sight
Should make you lose your appetite
Never fear, there is a chance
You’ll study those that dine on ANTS!
And then the fun begins with speed
Hours of watching video feed—

Ants that leave and ants that stay
Ants that run around all day
Ants that go and ants that come
Until the end of Christendom.
And why? Well, that’s for you to see
You’re the scientist. Not me.

Of course you won’t spend every day
In such a sedentary way
You’ll go wherever the lizards go!
And where is that? Well, as you know
For cold-blooded creatures, the perfect spot
Is always where it’s very HOT.
  
So to the desert off you trek
In dust and sand up to your neck
Without a shower or a bed
Skinning bunnies you find dead
Chasing scales till morning light
Hoping the tent stays up at night.

And when you’re back to civilization
Still you have an obligation
To research, synthesize, regroup
And measure piles of lizard poop.

But there’s no doubt that lizards are
The pinnacle of life by far
And worth the hours, days and years
The strain, the sweat, the blood and tears.
Indeed, I can’t imagine who
Could something more fun to do.

So Anne, I wish you all the best
May you and lizards both be blessed
Good luck, good tidings, and Godspeed
(But I think I’ll stay at home and read.)


~Rachel~


On a side note, yes I did spend three weeks in the desert living in a tent with only two showers to hold me over. I also weighed and measured quite a lot of lizard poop and sent a few months counting ants on videos to help us understand the availability of prey for ant-eating lizards. A rabbit or two were skinned during this time but it was in the name of science I promise.

One of the lizards I worked with in the desert, the Western whiptail,
very hard to catch once they've warmed up.



It truly was a test of my love for lizards and I'm happy to say that I continue love them just as much, if not more than I did before.   

The Leopard Lizard. I think she's sun bathing in this person's hand 
The desert horned lizard, or horny toad if you prefer. They look so grumpy.
Just in case you were wondering about the part with
 "half their lunch hanging out."
Yes that is a leopard lizard in the process of digesting a whiptail,
lovely imagery isn't it? 



If any of you feel the need to know more about my experiences into the nitty-gritty part of science and herpetology, or simply to ask me something along the lines of why on Earth a rabbit had to skinned, leave a comment and I would be perfectly willing to expand on the story.

4 comments:

  1. That is truly an amazing poem, and what a marvelous way to really show us what you do in the field! What desert were you in? Will you be going to more?

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    1. I was in the Alvord Desert, it's in southeastern Oregon. I'm not a fan of deserts but if that's where the lizards take me...

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  2. You have a very awesome roommate :) I wanna hear more about the rabbits, even though I kind of don't!

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    Replies
    1. Never fear you will hear more about them...and I promise they were dead by the time we got there.

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