There was an incident that I like to narrate,
Where I felt a bit worried about the victim’s fate,
Saw some dogs surrounding a garden lizard,
Biting and tossing the lizard by its tail which seemed quite weird,
They bullied the creature but the lizard fought back,
Hissing and showing its tiny teeth against this unmatchable attack,
The dogs were persistent,
When one moved back another picked the lizard that very instant,
Tossing it away near a bush,
A bystander gave a call and the dogs left in a rush,
While feeding these free ranging dogs many see only their display of love and loyalty,
Observing them for a long time closely, you will know their personalities have a wide range of complexity,
Humans are generally scared of things they can’t control,
Sometimes they go out of the way to support feral companion creatures to the extent of disrupting its ecological role,
To a certain level human compassion is necessary to maintain nature’s balance,
Maybe it is a discussion for another day when I get another chance,
To feed or not to feed free ranging dogs is a question that bothers a few,
Incidents like the one mentioned above may change someone’s point of view,
Meanwhile due to the treatment faced; the lizard might have skipped a beat,
But the oblivious feral dogs will go out for their treat,
Giving the hiding lizard time to recuperate from the shock,
Hope its scaly skin suffered less from the knock,
Evolved to face nature’s challenges,
These tiny ‘dinosaurs’ have survived for ages,
Many get confused as they look similar to chameleons,
Oriental garden lizard males can change their colours during breeding seasons,
‘Blood suckers’ and ‘Changeable Lizards’ are some of the other names by which they are known,
Generally these creatures stay alone,
Compared to chameleons these male lizards’ colour-changing abilities are less,
But they do use camouflage as an escape route naturally without much fuss,
Staying on small plants and trees,
Feeding mainly on insects with ease,
Observing them may unlock some of nature’s mysteries,
Researchers are discovering new information regarding agamid lizards and their abilities,
You might see them sometimes basking under the sun,
When predators are around then they need energy to run,
From the genus known as Colates,
They are harmless creatures who mean no malice,
Being informed will make you better prepared,
As there is nothing about them to be scared,
An important role these reptiles play in the food chain,
Poison and pollution can cause them a lot of pain,
We must try to acknowledge and conserve the biodiversity around us,
Viable habitats are important for these animals and this is a point I must stress,
Otherwise we are putting them in danger and duress,
How to co-exist amicably is an effort where we must progress…
© Nishand Venugopal. All rights reserved.
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