A lot of you may be heading back to work today after a nice relaxing, long weekend, unless you have kids….as a house of children full of chocolate was probably anything but relaxing. In fact, you may be looking forward to just sitting down with your cup of coffee as your imagination takes you to Africa where we will learn about the incredible Giant Girdled Lizard, also known as a Sungazer, Giant Spiny-Tailed Lizard or Giant Zonure. No matter what you call them, you are only going to find this reptile hanging out in the silty soils of the Themeda grassland in South Africa.

Living the Great Life

The Giant Girdled Lizard prefers these silty soils since their favourite hobby just happens to be digging burrows. Okay, maybe this is more of a survival requirement than a hobby but either way these lizards are excellent diggers. They will spend a good portion of their time suntanning at the entranceway of their underground home, which is why they are known as Sungazers. During the winter, they put their sun-tan lotion away and head deep into the burrow where they will hibernate throughout the winter. It is not often that I am jealous of a reptile but a life of lounging in the summer sun and sleeping during the winter cold sounds like a pretty sweet life to me.

Armoured for Protection

Although their life may seem easy, the Giant Girdled Lizard is a prime target for numerous predators scattered throughout their home range. Well, they would be a prime target, if they weren’t covered in spines. Particularly, the whorl of large spines on their tail provide the Giant Girdled Lizard with a very effective self-defence mechanism. When threatened, this lizard will typically escape to their burrow but as they exit down into their home, they make sure to wave goodbye with their deadly tail. This usually persuades the attacker not to continue the chase into the underground shelter.

A Decreasing Population

Even with a suit of sharp spines, the Giant Girdled Lizard, isn’t protected from humans. They are listed as vulnerable with the main threats being the illegal pet trade and habitat destruction. It doesn’t help that they have an incredibly slow reproduction rate, giving birth to one or two offspring every 2 years. To make matters even worse, the Giant Girdled Lizard will not breed in captivity, so if we want to ensure the survival of this species, we need to stop destroying their habitat and selling them on the black market.