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Lizards with antennas are roaming Oklahoma. They’re not spying on us, researchers say

Lizards with antennas sticking out from their bodies are being let loose in Oklahoma. Despite appearances, researchers aren’t training up a batch of cold-blooded spies.

It’s all part of a unique strategy to bolster Texas horned lizard populations, the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation said in a social media post.

“They look like little mind controlled attack dragons!” one person commented.

The little devices that look like walkie talkies strapped to the lizards’ backs aren’t so they can report back to their handlers, or be operated like RC cars. They’re transmitters that researchers use to monitor the lizards, keep track of where they’re going, where they’ve gone, and if they’re still alive, Mark Howery, senior wildlife diversity biologist with the ODWC, told McClatchy News.

Some commenters expressed concern that the transmitters were going to get the lizards killed, by hindering their movement or making them more obvious to predators.

Wildlife officials say the devices won’t be a problem.

“These tracking devices are well researched by biologists and wildlife experts to ensure that they do not impede on the lizard’s ability to go about its daily activities!” the ODWC responded.

The trackers are sometimes attached using temporary glue, or strapped on like a backpack using thread, according to Howery.

It’s no secret the beloved reptile species, often called horny toads, have declined in the region — due largely to habitat loss and destruction.

“We used to have so much fun trying to catch these when I was a kid,” a commenter wrote. “Never see them anymore.”

In Oklahoma, horned lizard populations have diminished by 50%-60% since the 1960s, Howery told McClatchy. Once, they were established in nearly every county in the state. Now they’re reliably found in less than half.

Attempts to restore their numbers, and their territory, have often failed.

“There have been efforts over the years in Texas and Oklahoma to try and move horned lizards from places where they currently occur to places they used to occur. And all of those have failed, not a single one of them has worked,” Howery said.

Part of the problem is that horned lizards quickly imprint on their surroundings once they’ve hatched, establishing a sort of internal map of their “home range.” When adults are moved, they struggle to reorient themselves, Howery said, and they tend to die as a result.

So researchers are trying out some different strategies. The ODWC is a partner in this effort, alongside the Oklahoma City Zoo, the University of Oklahoma, and Tinker Air Force Base.

Instead of moving lizards from one place to another, researchers are taking ones they’ve raised in captivity and adding them to an existing population. By boosting the size of that population, the hope is their numbers will grow and the offspring will expand outward to new territory naturally.

To improve the odds of success, researchers are releasing lizards they’ve raised for a year or more, Howery said, as horned lizards are most vulnerable during their first few months of life. Although, maturity could bring its own challenges.

“I don’t think this is going to be the case, but it’s possible they will have imprinted on their holding containers in captivity and will be very disoriented for a while,” Howery said.

As photos from the department’s social media post show, the lizards are first being released from captivity into an acclimation pen, where they will be safe from predators but able to get a feel for the wild before they’re free to roam.

A total of 34 horned lizards have been released and are being tracked, and Howery is hopeful.

“We just know that what’s been done in the past has not worked … either in Oklahoma or in Texas,” Howery said. If successful, “this may be the approach we take in the future for establishing new populations.”

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