A while back, Nancy Greig, Director of the Cockrell Butterfly Center at the Houston Museum of Natural Science, reported on an interaction with Freddie, her 27-pound dog, and a brown anole. Well, Freddie’s been at it again!

Here’s what Nancy has to say:

That dog-Anolis sagrei interaction I sent a photo of several months ago was not a one-off. Yesterday Freddie encountered another good-sized male that again would not back down. He could have run away, but seemed to think he was much bigger that he was.

I also “tested” him by touching his tail. He opened his mouth and extended his dewlap (I did this more than once), but did not try to run away. He could easily have run to hide, but like the first one, was extremely feisty (or had a death wish). I’m not sure if he eventually got away, but he certainly had many opportunities that he did not take.

I think it’s just the big male anoles that are so tough/stupid. The smaller ones run away.

 

Jonathan Losos
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