Tag Archives: Anoles

Three-legged anole

Three-legged green anole

Three-legged anoleI love nature, but I’m reminded from time to time that it isn’t always warm and fuzzy. One such occasion was when I noticed that one of the resident green anoles was getting around on fewer than the standard issue number of limbs. Something nasty had happened to him, possibly in the form of a larger anole.

I’d always assumed that such a disadvantage would make it unlikely the creature would survive in its Darwinian environment, but it didn’t seem to bother this anole unduly. He defended his territory with vigor and while he had a slightly lopsided gait, it didn’t appear to affect his ability to get around or to hunt. I saw him more than once, leaping from one leaf to another and snagging some unfortunate bug that wasn’t paying attention.

So perhaps this was a different kind of positive aspect of nature — unless you’re a bug that is.

Posted in response to this week’s WordPress Photo Challenge ‘Unlikely.’

Here’s looking at you

A green anole on a ti plant

A green anole keeps a wary out from the stalk of a ti plant. This is a popular spot for anoles in the winter months. Often, the dominant male spends a good deal of time running around and puffing out his dewlap to let all and sundry know who’s boss. This year’s dominant male seems positively mellow by comparison. So far I haven’t seen him get ruffled by anything, including my intrusive behavior.

Cattle egret hunting

A cattle egret wrestles with a green anole.A cattle egret wrestles with a green anole.

Another post on the theme of ‘Glow,’ this week’s WordPress photo challenge.

I looked out of the window early one morning, and saw this cattle egret staring intently, as they do, into fallen leaves bordering the yard. After a few minutes of that, a sudden lunge was followed by the top photo. That’s a green anole wrapped around the egret’s beak as it struggled, unsuccessfully, to get free. The photo on the left shows the egret swishing the anole back and forth, in an effort to finish it off.

I doubt the anole was happy, but the egret certainly glowed in the morning light.

Green anole on ti leaf

A green anole surveys the scene from a ti leaf.

A green anole surveys the scene from a ti leaf. Ti leaves start out a bold green, then gradually turn yellow and brown before dropping off. If the ti plant is pruned back, two new shoots will sprout from the cut.