Fast moving grass-bush anoles were good noosing practice.
Ten days into my first field work experience, and I’m loving it. I am in Puerto Rico with Travis Ingram, and we are studying the interactions between Anolis gundlachi and Anolis cristatellus, which requires us to catch lots of anoles. I had never noosed anoles before, but I figured I could get the hang of it pretty quickly. Little did I know the challenges and adventures that were in store…
At first, I had the typical beginner’s struggles: the lizard is biting the noose and I can’t take the noose off, or the classic lizard biting my finger and preventing me from removing the noose. However, as I improved, the anoles seemed to step up their game as well. I soon had a lizard that I noosed tie the string in a knot around a barbed wire fence. No big deal, I quickly learned how to handle that. Things got more interesting when both myself and another anole were stalking the same juvenile, and it was a race to see who could catch it. I admit, I lost that race the first time.
The next hurdle to overcome was flying Anolis gundlachi juveniles. Multiple times, as I have brought the noose close, the lizard has leaped off of the tree trunk, grabbed the noose with its mouth, pulled out the loop of the noose (effectively disabling it), and then disappeared in the leaf litter. Very clever. Nonetheless, I think my favorite challenge so far happened two days ago. We were short on time and needed to catch more juvenile anoles, and I was in the process of doing so when a hummingbird repeatedly attempted to fly away with the string on the end of my noose. It seemed like every time the noose got close to my target, the meddling bird was back, pecking at the string. I don’t know what Mother Nature has in store next, but let me tell you , I’m ready.
- Diet Study with Gastric Lavage - July 6, 2012
- On the Art of Noosing - May 29, 2012
Rich Glor
I hope that Travis is also teaching you the lingo for all the various types of noosing you’ve experienced. Many of the terms we use are not suitable for a family-oriented blog like Anole Annals (for example, the term we use when a lizard bites the noose), but I can tell you that we call it the “Dr. Jones” when the noose gets tangled around a trunk or barbed wire after you’ve lassoed an animal. This term is an homage to Indiana Jones and his whip. When you snare an animal and subsequently another object it is traditional to begin shouting “Dr. Jones, Dr. Jones!” All the better if you can emulate the accent of the young Chinese character known as “Short Round,” who was frequently heard shouting “Dr. Jones” in The Temple of Doom.
Martha Munoz
And there’s also lizard surprise… another Glor lab staple in lizard collecting maneuvers.
Jerry Husak
Good luck to you guys with the rest of the experiments – it was great meeting you at El Verde! My students also learned the vagaries of noosing, but its inevitable reward: the thrill of the catch (and being bit when too cautious with the grab!).
Jerry