Western Fence Lizards, ticks, and ... vampires?

[keyan_bowes]

The other day, on an errand in Marin, I saw a lizard on the fence next to a parking lot. Could it be... the almost mythical Western Fence Lizard?

It's not almost mythical because it's rare. It's actually one of the most common lizards in California. If I'd spent more time where lizards are (or been paying more attention) I'd have seen one by now.

It's almost mythical because of its secret superpower. It fights Lyme Disease.

I hate Lyme Disease. Quite apart from its cryptic symptoms (unless you get the classical bull's eye rash) and nasty effects, it steals the woods from those who love them. People no longer hang out in the wild, knowing that at any moment a tick might be passing on a possibly life-threatening, tough-to-diagnose bug.

Here's how Lyme disease works: A tick bites a critter that carries the disease, typically mice or deer, but possibly also some kinds of birds. The tick is then infected (but unaffected), drops off when it's finished eating, and looks for another host. Like a nature-loving human, or a lizard. It attaches itself, and as it feeds, the bacterium transfers into the next host.

So. The Western Fence Lizard. Their blood kills the Lyme Disease bacterium. So when the tick attaches to a lizard, it eats its fill, and goes away - cleansed. It's no longer infectious.

(Hmm. I feel a Vampire story coming on. Not the sparkly kind.)

Comments

[julieandrews.livejournal.com]

Cool!

I'd say we should import some over here in the northeast. But we know that'll just lead to larger and larger animals to eat the lizard population explosion. And I don't think the moose would be happy with elephants invading their territory.