⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
Of all the elusive, wild creatures that make Arizona their home the Gila Monster is among those that spend most of their lives underground…up to 95 percent of the time in burrows or under rocks. Spotting them in the open is a rare event and I, for one, have never seen one in its natural desert habitat and I’ve lived here close to 31 years! Like most desert animals these lizards stay away from the incessant, broiling sun during the day and only emerge in the early mornings or after rainfall to hunt for their favored foods like bird eggs or mice.
Lately I’ve been thinking to be on the lookout for a Gila Monster around Cave Creek (north of Phoenix) after a dousing monsoon storm. It’s been a good long while since I’ve been on a morning hike to explore this possibility. In any case, they shouldn’t be picked up or messed around with (in Nevada it’s illegal to capture them). They are poisonous and although their bite isn’t typically fatal it will be painful! Gila Monsters are found in deserts throughout the U.S. and northern Mexico. They go through a form of hibernation November through March (which I didn’t know until reading up on them) and is also a major reason I’ve never seen one yet!)
While we’re on this subject I should mention that there’s also a cheesy B-movie featuring them called The Giant Gila Monster (1959). As you may have already guessed, it’s a low budget schlockfest and although I haven’t watched it yet, I know what’s up from reading all about it! This story of a mutated lizard stalking and causing mayhem in a small Texas town apparently became something of a drive-in classic…so, I’ll have to put it near the top of my long watchlist since I’ll watch almost anything once!
⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
