Sungazers are on display at the Pretoria Zoo for the first time. Picture: Thobile Mathonsi/African News Agency (ANA)
Pretoria - History was made this week when members of the public viewed Sungazers for the first time at the the National Zoological Garden in Pretoria.
The purpose was to introduce Sungazers to the public and help educate people and raise awareness about the plight of these endangered enigmatic lizards.
It was also to inform people that the facility known as Pretoria Zoo was one of the few in the world to officially breed these lizards.
Mike Adams, the curator at reptile park at the Zoo, said they had kept Sungazers in a number of off-exhibit areas for more than 15 years. “All of our Sungazers, except one, were originally confiscated from the illegal wildlife trade. These unique lizards that are endemic to South Africa are highly sought after in the illegal international pet trade.
“We hope to learn more about breeding these lizards so that in the long-term we can hopefully re-introduce individuals back into the wild,” Adams said.
He added that unlike most lizards, Sungazers lived in burrows in the ground in the open veld, predominantly in the Free State. They were often seen standing like this near the entrance to their burrows.
“In Afrikaans they are known as Ouvolk. We have 25 individuals at the moment, of which three are now on display for the public.
“They are called Sungazers due to their tendency to lift the front part of their body up and look towards the sun.”
Sungazers are special lizards and undoubtedly one of, if not the most, iconic lizard species and a flagship species for the illegal trade in reptiles. They are an endangered species and are endemic to South Africa, meaning they are found nowhere else in the wild. Their natural habitat is being severely destroyed, mostly through habitat destruction, especially farming, and they are also poached to sell in the pet trade and are taken from the wild to be used in traditional medicine, Adams said.
“We would like to encourage people never to take animals from the wild and try and keep them as pets, especially Sungazers. Not only is it illegal but it is very difficult to truly care of these animals in captivity. In the wild, Sungazers will feed almost exclusively on a variety of insects, particularly beetles”, said Adams.
A Sungazer, named Litchi, was recently born at the zoo.
These reptiles give birth to live young babies as opposed to laying eggs, and typically, only one baby is born.
Adam said it was a remarkable success because these reptiles were almost impossible to breed in captivity, and this was only the second known case of a truly captive-bred lizard being born.
Pretoria News