Common Chuckwalla

Description:

A common chuckwalla at the Tulsa Zoo. This one is basking as is common for them as they are ectothermic. They are related to iguanas. What I found surprising is that the common chuckwalla is a herbivore and completely harmless to humans. Choosing instead to run and hilariously wedge itself into rocks and crevices and inflate itself by gulping in air. I know of one other animal that can do this, the pancake tortoise, and it cracks me up that this defense mechanism exists in more than one reptile.

Habitat:

It inhabits the Sonoran and Mojave Deserts of the southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico. Its range extends from Eastern California, Utah, and Nevada south to Baja California and Sonora.