Ecobreves – GUATEMALA: Protecting a Poisonous Lizard

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GUATEMALA CITY, Nov 21 2005 (IPS) - Guatemala's National Council of Protected Areas, CONAP, will begin a strategy for preserving the endangered venomous beaded lizard “Heloderma horridum charlesbogerti”, native to the Motagua region, east of the capital. In the context of this program, which is backed by the Nature Conservancy, Defenders of Nature Foundation and the U.S. Agency for International Development (AID), among others, a workshop will be held in late November in Rio Hondo, in the eastern municipality of Zacapa, where this type of lizard still lives, CONAP spokeswoman Viviana Flores told Tierramérica.

Participants will define the process for conservation and maintenance of this reptile, known popularly as “niño dormido” (sleepy child), and with a robust body, less than one meter long, black with yellow tones, either as small points or large spots.