July 25, 2007
July 24, 2007
Horny Toad
Went to an uncle's funeral this morning and afterwards went out to visit with my cousins at one's son's house. (my second cousin? First cousin twice-removed? I always get those mixed up) As I was getting out of my pickup, I saw some movement on the ground and it was this young "horned lizard".
(click any pic for larger view; last photo is super-high resolution)
They're getting very rare; when I was a kid, they were all over, especially around red ant beds. Since people will not tolerate ants and poison their mounds, now the horny toads have had their main supply of food cut off.
It's a shame, because while they look fiercesome, they're really docile creatures. You have to roughly handle one to get them to even open their toothless mouths at you. Horny toads can also eject or "spit" blood from their eyes (or thereabouts) and I've seen it exactly twice in all the hundreds of horny toads I've handled and seen handled. If you lie them on their backs and gently rub their tummy, they'll fall asleep.
So will I, but that's prob. TMI, huh?
A FEW MORE PICTURES
