Lizards of the Dominican Republic

There are countless different species of lizards in the Dominican Republic. Some can change colors at ninja speed while others escape predators by outrunning them. Every species has its survival trick(s).

When I first got to the Dominican Republic all I had was an 18-55mm lens. For those of you who don’t know photography what I want to say with is that I had to get really really close to the lizards before I could take a good picture of them. This meant I would spend a lot of time inching my way towards the lizards to try to get as close as I could without scaring them off. This was a great time to watch the lizards interact with each other and their environment.

Now about a year later, it’s a bit easier for me to grab the shot that I want thanks to my 70-300mm lens. This means that I still have to get close, but I can stay far enough away that, unless I make a sudden movement, the lizards won’t be scared away. Although this lens makes photographing lizards easier, you still need to find them first! Also, they can see further then you think.

Before my hard drive crashed I had hundreds of pictures of lizards. If I manage to get my files off I’ll make sure to update this photo essay with those, but for the mean time you can check out all of the ones that I’ve captured since then.

Some Interesting Facts About Lizards:

They can detach their tails to escape a predator’s grasp. (The new one that grows will have no bones and will be smaller)
They smell with their tongue.
Some species can live over 30 years.
Some species squirt blood from their eyes. (Horned Lizard)
One species actually grabs onto surfaces at a molecular level. Check out more about that through this article at BBC

That’s it for now. Hopefully I can recover my files and share some of the other ones I’ve captured.