THREATS

Photo: Andrea Najera Acevedo

Land use changes: With the increasing needs of the human populations in the Motagua Valley, much land has been drastically altered by clearing for crops and harvesting firewood for cooking. Recent studies indicate that the current available habitat for the Guatemalan Beaded Lizard consists of approximately 17,000 hectares or 40,000 acres. This is estimated to be enough suitable habitat to support approximately 200 individuals.

Illegal trade of specimens: Due to the rarity of this species and the high price paid for living specimens by collectors, a number of animals have been captured in the past decade and sold on the illegal animal market.

Environmental devastation: Hurricane Mitch: Another factor that negatively affected the wild populations of H. h. charlesbogerti was Hurricane Mitch in 1998. Much of the arid region of the Motagua Valley was flooded in that year, causing great damage to the human populations as well as to the wildlife of the region. However, since no population studies of the subspecies exist from prior to 1988, the true impact of that catastrophic event on the wild populations of H. h. charlesbogerti cannot be determined.

Extermination by local people due to false perception of danger: Local myths and superstitions surrounding the venomous Beaded Lizard have contributed directly to the population decline in these animals; the lizards are exterminated on sight by local citizens who believe them to be highly dangerous.

MYTHS

Illustrated by Joel Friesch

The Guatemalan Beaded Lizard is feared by local people due to its long-standing notoriety as a highly venomous and very dangerous animal. According to myth: The lizard stings with its tail (thus the vernacular name of “Scorpion”); its venom is so powerful that it can pass through the shadows of people and envenomate them; the lizard explodes when it is touched; its breath can make people feel dizzy and disoriented in the field. One of the most beautiful stories about the reptile probably originated with the Mayan civilization that lived in the Motagua Valley: Supposedly this lizard attracts the electricity of the sky, and any spot where lightning strikes is where a Guatemalan Beaded Lizard is hidden underground.

An Aztec tale explains how “Acaltetepón”, the Beaded Lizard, got his bumpy skin. Long ago, Aztec farmers in the tropical deciduous forest would plant their corn crops in the hot, dry period preceding the summer rains, then wait for the quenching rains to nourish their fields. One year, the rains did not come and the worried people called on Acaltetepón for help. They persuaded him to visit their fields with an offering of eggs. After feeding on the eggs, Acaltetepón retreated to his burrow beneath the corn crop, and immediately the life-giving rains came to produce the most bountiful crop the people had harvested in many years. And even today, the skin of Acaltetepón bears the small kernels of corn as a reminder of his supernatural powers to affect the weather.

Zootropic has been working hard on environmental education efforts to change the minds of local people about this species and to involve them in conservation strategies.