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We begin our radical reptile road trip with the beloved Texas horned lizard.
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Once abundant across America's southern landscape, they're rarely seen now due to habitat loss and years of being captured for the pet trade.
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Today, we're meeting up with a team of scientists working together to raise and release baby horned lizards to boost this beloved animals’ numbers once again.
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After all, it's the Lone Star States of official state reptile.
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We are here in Eastland, TX.
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Or the famous RIP Best.
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Or probably the most famous of all the horn lizards.
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This is the home of Old RIP, who's now laid to rest inside a glass case at this courthouse.
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Wow, look at that, that's really him.
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In 1897 this lizard was sealed up in a time capsule and legend has it 31 years later it woke up from a very long nap.
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From that he was named Old RIP after Rip Van Winkle.
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Are you sure he's not still hibernated?
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It's a lot of Texas hoopla for a little lizard now.
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Old RIP story might be a little far-fetched, but it's gained a lot of attention and sparked real conservation.
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I'm headed to the San Antonio Zoo where scientists are taking big steps for these little horned heroes.
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You are in a really special place.
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This is our Texas horn lizard lab.
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This is a place where we breed Texas horn lizards and we're learning how to put them out onto the landscape.
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Oh yeah, look at that.
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This is about as close to a prehistoric animal I think I've ever been.
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The Texas Horn Lizard Reintroduction project at the San Antonio Zoo is working to bring our spiky friends back by teaming up with private landowners and releasing zoo hatch lizards into the wild.
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If you think about those open wild spaces where you used to find Texas horn lizards, they're just not there anymore.
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They're strip malls, they're housing tracks, their roads.
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So habitat losses definitely impacted this species.
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This program is designed to provide a, a, a, how to guide.
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How do you keep them in the lab successfully?
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How do you breed them in the lab successfully?
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And then how do you put them back out onto the landscape with a high degree of success?
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How do you keep track of the ones you have released?
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How do you know how well they're doing?
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There's a couple different ways that we can ID them.
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Each lizard is unique in their belly spots.
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It's kind of like a fingerprint.
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I still can't get over those horns.
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Those horns aren't just for show.
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They help lizards blend into their rocky surroundings and keep predators away.
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And they're sharp enough to be great protection against birds or snakes that might try and eat one.
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We have been lucky enough to produce well over 200 babies that we've been able to put back out on the landscape.
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Get ready for some serious cuteness when they first hatch.
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A horn lizard is about the size of a nickel and weighs less than a paper clip at the smallest size.
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They've got a lot to learn, especially like how to hunt for food.
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What's going on here with the ants on a stick?
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It mimics a harvester Ant colony.
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They go up and down on the stick and then the lizards can come up and feed off them just like they would on a foraging trail in the wild.
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It's incredible.
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Once they're about 3 months old and big enough to handle life on their own, they'll be ready for the wild.
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And Doctor Ray is heading out to find these lizards a future wild home.
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I am so pumped to be here.
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Why exactly is this such a suitable sight?
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This private ranch has been retexist gotten back to its natural grasses be suitable habitat to where these lizards were historically.
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Plenty of food sources.
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So termites for little guys like this.
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Big, beautiful harvester Ant mounds.
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Everyone loves the lizards.
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Can't get enough of them.
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This spiky little reptile is a favorite and goes by lots of names.
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***** toad, horned frog, But it's 100% lizard.
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These nicknames derive from its scientific name, Frontosima coronutum, which means toad bodied because of its shape.
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Looks like the team's here.
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Before releasing the newest batch from the zoo, the team needs a sign that the lizards from previous releases are doing well.
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So they've called in a canine with a special skill.
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Let's go, Let's go to work.
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Hey doggy.
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Hey, girl.
