(dramatic percussion music)
- I'm Coyote Peterson,
and I'm about to go underneath a prickly pear cactus
to have a face-to-face encounter
with the only venomous lizard in the United States.
I absolutely love my job.
All right, this is gonna get interesting.
(cougar roars)
(fast-paced safari music)
(curious instrumental music)
This morning, we're in Tuscon, Arizona,
headed out into the heartland of Gila monster territory,
the Sonoran Desert.
We have been notified by a local rancher
that one of these rare lizards
has taken up residence on a hillside of his property.
This time of day,
Gila monsters will emerge from their burrows
to bask in the morning sun.
What I want to do is stay hunkered down
and watch from a distance with binoculars.
If this elusive reptile does indeed reveal itself,
I will have an excellent opportunity
to encounter this notorious desert dweller.
To do that, I will quickly position myself
between the lizard and its burrow,
and carefully capture it with my bare hands.
This will be the best way for me
to ensure the safety of the animal
while I show you some of its most unique qualities.
(apprehensive tones)
I see him.
He's out,
and he's underneath a prickly pear cactus,
which is gonna make it
a little more challenging place.
All right, he's moving a little bit.
This is gonna be our opprotunity
and a chance to go up this one.
Mark, follow me.
(apprehensive tones)
Here is right there. See him?
Right there. Look, you can see the top of him.
You see his tongues sticking out?
- [Mark] Yeah.
- Right there.
Look at his head right in the sunlight.
What I want to do is carefully work my way behind the lizard
try to create a barrier between it and its den.
All right, he's turning back towards his den.
Okay, I'm just gonna go.
All right, here we go. There he is.
All right, I got the den behind me at this point.
What I'm gonna do
is safely and gently grab a hold of him
right behind his head so that I don't risk getting bit.
All right, ready?
- [Mark] Yup.
- Okay, got it.
Yes, look at him!
Wow, totally worth the steak out.
That is the Gila monster,
the only venomous lizard in the United States.
These reptiles, typically, are not very aggressive.
It's not very often that people are bit by Gila monsters.
They say that only a fool who mishandles a Gila monster
ever receives a bite.
What's really interesting about the tongue
of the Gila monster is that it's forked just like a snake.
They run that over what's called the Jacobson's organ
at the top of the skull in the roof of the mouth.
That's like this Gila monster's little personal computer
that's bringing in all sorts of chemicals
from potential prey, predators, and its environment.
The venom glands on this lizard
are in the lower jaw.
There's scales on the outside,
and below that are four venom glands.
When they actually find something
that they're going to capture, bite, and envenomate,
those teeth that they have are not like fangs.
They're these long, sharp, monster-looking teeth,
and when they grab onto something,
they gnaw and gnaw.
That gnawing works the venom into their saliva,
and then into their victim.
The scientific name of the Gila monster, Heloderma
means "nail-studded skin."
This lizard is absolutely built for this desert terrain.
All these little bumps running down his back
are actually little osteoderms.
Osteoderms are little tiny pieces of bone covered in scale.
This guy pretty much has a bullet-proof vest on his back.
Gila monsters are incredibly intelligent reptiles.
They will often follow the trail of a mammal
and go right back to its burrow.
If that mammal has babies in the burrow, he's got lunch.
If it doesn't have any babies,
they will actually remember where that burrow is at,
and return several times
until there's something in there to eat.
Then of course, they have their meal.
If you're unfortunate enough to be bitten by a Gila monster,
it's gonna be one of the most painful exeriences
you've ever gone through.
The only way to get this reptile off of you
is to actually submerge it into a bucket of water.
Once it lets go, remember, this is venomous,
and you're gonna wanna get yourself to the hospital
as soon as possible.
The venom's not as potent as a rattle snake,
but I tell you what,
they say it's about a painful
as lava coursing through your veins.
Wow, what an increadible encounter
with the only venomous lizard
that lives in the United States,
one of my favorites,
but I want to know what your favorite lizards are.
Leave me your list in the comments section below.
I'm Coyote Peterson.
Be brave. Stay wild.
We'll see you on the next adventure.
All right, I'm gonna put this guy up in the shade
so he can cool off back in his burrow,
and we're gonna go get some ice cream.
It's scorching out here.
If you thought that was one wild adventure,
check out these other animal encounters.
And don't forget, subscribe to follow me and the crew
on this season of Breaking Trail.
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(wild animal sounds)