This is a featured photo of the month. I will try and update this monthly with a favorite photo.
Common Name: Gila Monster
Scientific Name: Heloderma suspectum
Date Taken: 2020
Location: Sonoran Desert, Arizona
Photographer: Jan Fletcher
A large, venomous lizard native to the deserts and arid scrublands of southern Arizona. It inhabits rocky slopes, desert washes and areas with scattered vegetation. It spends much of its time sheltering in underground burrows or beneath rocks and is most active during the warmer months, particularly in spring and early summer. Its diet consists mainly of eggs, small mammals, young birds and other small vertebrates, locating prey primarily through its keen sense of smell. Slow moving and largely solitary, they lay eggs in underground nests, and may spend much of the cooler season inactive in their shelters. One of only two living species of venomous lizard native to North America.
