During my recent visit to Tal Chhapar Blackbuck Sanctuary in Rajastan, we were observing the various life forms in the grasslands. We came across a reptile called Spiny tailed lizard. As the name indicates, it has got a spiny tail, and lives in burrows in open dry land.
In the month of Sep/Oct, there would be plenty of these reptiles, all around the place, and this reptile is one of the main prey-base in this habitat for many birds and mammals. Even huge reptiles like monitor lizards feed on these reptiles.
We formed groups and decided to lie down flat on the ground at a distance from different Spiny tailed lizard burrows, waiting for the reptile to show up.
We waited and waited, in the mid-day scorching sun for about 30-40 minutes. Finally, the lizard showed up. It slowly came out of the burrow, and started basking. We could photograph some good profile images of the reptile.
After sometime, I noticed an ant crawling towards the lizard. I got myself ready for an action shot, for the lizard grabbing the ant. I waited patiently for the ant to crawl near the lizard. It did so, I am lucky, I thought. Now, is the moment... be ready to shoot... the lizard will grab the ant, I will get a shot, may be with the tongue out.
The ant crawled very close to the lizard, no action from the reptile. It crawled over the lizard and passed. I was surprised to see a lizard not even reacting for an insect that crawls over it.
Then I came to know that, Spiny tailed lizards are herbivorous animals. The Indian spiny-tailed lizard (Saara hardwickii, syn. Uromastyx hardwickii) is a species of agamid lizard found patchily distributed in the Thar desert, Kutch and surrounding arid zones in India and Pakistan. These lizards are mainly herbivorous are live in numbers in some areas. These lizards are found in loose clusters and attract raptors and predators. They are also hunted by local peoples in the belief that the fat extracted from it is an aphrodisiac.
Reference: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saara_hardwickii
