The bite happened on Feb. 12 when the man’s girlfriend heard something that "didn't sound right" coming from the other room. She went to check and saw the lizard latched onto the hand of 34-year-old Christopher Ward, according to a report from local animal control.
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Not sure why anybody would name a reptile. I mean, it's not like it's going to come when you call it.
I've only seen one Gila Monster in my life back when I was about 17 years old, and that was in some gas station shrubbery in Needles CA when I got out to stretch my legs while Dad was fueling up the truck. No, I didn't try and pet it.
Famous reptile names: Joe, Kamala, Nancy, ....
ReplyDelete"NPS says a reasonably healthy adult will probably not be killed by a bite, but young children and people with other medical concerns might be vulnerable."
ReplyDeleteAny bets as to why someone in a Denver suburb wouldn't be reasonably healthy in this day and age? Besides welcoming poisonous wild critters being a sign of mental unhealth?
Growing up there was a bar that had a mountain lion in an enclosure, never thought to pet that wild animal with sharp claws and big teeth....
"No, I didn't try and pet it."
ReplyDeletePeople were smarter back then.
-lg
Another case of very rare, but the odds are never "0" event. It was a simple mistake. Maybe the dude thought he was holding his flesh light to releave his sexual energy and Winston resisted.
ReplyDeleteIIRC Gila monsters are rear-fanged and inject poison by latching on, not by a fanged bite-and-injection like venomous snakes. Powerful jaws.
ReplyDeleteSome friends & I were out partying in a Sonoran desert catch basin & came upon one.
ReplyDeleteDidn't try to pet it, but I did pee on it.
CC
Visited the Grand Canyon a while back.
ReplyDeleteOne of the rangers was commenting on snake bites in the park.
Mainly seen on lower legs -- and for teen - mid 20s men, bites on the hands and forearms.
Did rental apartment inspections in a small town as part of the Code Enforcement Office. A lot of the druggie places kept them. The smell was horrific and the numbers were high. Never 1 but many Why ?????
ReplyDeleteThere are hundreds, if not thousands, of Gila Lizards (and Beaded Lizards) in captivity. There are many very cool color variations (bright orange/almost red/pink/salmon/etc), with greater/lesser percentages of black vs color, from selective breeding.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.morphmarket.com/us/c/reptiles/lizards?state=for_sale&search=gila
Gotta manually scroll to see them here:
https://www.faunaclassifieds.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?s=bb3d83457658c466551f92ea6f437faf&f=53
While they seem slow and awkward, they can move their heads amazingly fast and typically bite sideways. Bites are extremely rare and fatalities due to captive animals are almost unheard of. I suspect something else is going on, perhaps 'suicide by lizard' or maybe the ol' lady knows more about this than she is telling...
Ed
I was on a business trip in Phoenix decades ago. I went jogging on the east side of town in a (state?) park. I literally saw three Gila monsters while jogging. In the wild. Must have been mating season!
ReplyDeleteMy wife had a big ass iguana named Princess. She would too come when she called her. Damn thing hated me like I voted for biden. Mean ass reptile would hang out on a bookshelf by the door and ambush me when I got home from work sometimes.
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