A spiny tailed lizard

Hardwicke’s spiny-tailed lizards (Saara hardwickii, also Indian spiny-tailed lizard) used to be seen in the Gangetic plains sixty years ago. Its range then extended west into Sindh, perhaps even Baluchistan, and south to the Konkan. Now, you have to travel to Tal Chhapar or Bikaner to see it, although you can get an occasional sighting in western Rajasthan or Kutch. Development and poaching has taken a toll. The fat from its tail used to be rendered into oil and sold as a cure for impotence. Perhaps some have heard of sanda ka tel; this animal is the sanda.

In one scrub ground outside the grassland sanctuary of Tal Chharpar, the ground was pocked with their burrows. They are solitary creatures which nevertheless live in colonies. So outside each burrow, or half out of one, I could see a lizard sunning itself. They are like reclusive film stars. They would scuttle back into their burrows as soon as they sensed me, so I had to take their portraits with long lenses, hiding behind cover. From the photo of its tail you can see why the myth of its oil as a cure for impotence arose. I’m sure that we’ll find that they are vulnerable to extinction, and perhaps even highly threatened, if anyone bothers to do a census.

Their looks are deceptive. The adults exclusively eat plants: the local succulent ker (Capparis decidua) and grasses. Subadults and juveniles may supplement their diets with insects. It has been observed that they seal their deep spiral burrows completely and live underground during the short local monsoon. Perhaps this means that they have a larder inside the burrow. They also hibernate through winter, putting on fat in their tails in preparation. We saw them after their emergence in spring, when the fat was used up. They were ready to mate and lay eggs, but not a single one had started courtship when we saw them.

They are easy picking for the raptors of this area. We saw a large juvenile Eastern Imperial eagle (Aquila heliaca) feeding on one. It ate its head and body and flew away. A great grey shrike (Lanius excubitor) had been watching this more intently than us. As soon as the eagle flew away, it descended on the tail and began to peck at it. Historically, some tribes used to eat the lizard; it was said to have quite a bit of white meat on the body. Oil was then extracted from the tail. As the tribes moved to a more settled and urbanized life, the consumption of lizards has decreased, but the oil is still used. Since trade in the animal or its parts is forbidden under the CITES agreement, this constitutes poaching. But, the main danger to this species seems to be from the entirely legal process of habitat loss. Given the large number of birds that feed on it, I’m sure the loss of this one species will create hardships for several other species.