Uromastyx disaster in saudi arabia (photos are graphic)

[madrule2002]

Uromastyx lizard in saudi arabia :we have some people eat this lizard and kill it just for fun , 15 years ago i use to see allot of them i mean the uromastyx lizard like more than 5000 in one area ,now u cant see anything if u going to see one you will be lucky

i want to safe this animal but i dont know how ?
and i want to show u some pics to know why i am still crying until now cuz we will lose uromastyx species in my country

they kill some reptiles in the desert but not like uromastyx species i can not believe some one can eat this lovely lizard

just tell me what i have to do plz ???

sorry for that i just need some advice to do something at least to safe them .

[Buck Rogers]

This is so sad for me because the uromastyx is one of my favourite lizards... It seems to be happening all too often all around the world that people have lost touch with nature and so many different animals species are suffering.

[riderx48]

such good looking reptiles how can they do this to them

[joef_conner]

So sad....

[steve]

horrible man! really not cool...i hope something can be done before the wild population is depleted. good luck with your mission.

[fredsmith]

Eish!
Such a sad state of affairs indeed. I guess the folk doing this just don't see anything wrong in what they're doing... much the same as those that hunted out the dodo bird didn't find fault in their doings... Perhaps when there are none left they might catch on to the whole "preservation for future generations" thing?

Thanks for sharing Madrule... and I wish you luck in your endevours to protect these amazing lizards.

[Bushviper]

There is a special place in hell where the fires are really hot for these people.

[maz]

Dude, you have set yourself a tough task and I wish you all the best. The only way to succeed in your endeavor is get a group of like minded people together and also get the attention of the local media to the plight of your dab lizards. Once they are on-board it becomes easier to get the message across to a lot more people. Get together a "Save the Dab Club" going bro. Peace

[Buck Rogers]

Mad rule- which part of Saudi Arabia is this? And do you know what species of Uromastyx they are? We have very little information and classification of uromastyx in South Africa as the only ones which are available in the pet trade are the black uromastyx from Mali and the yellow ones from Egypt area.

[fredsmith]

Mad rule- which part of Saudi Arabia is this? And do you know what species of Uromastyx they are? We have very little information and classification of uromastyx in South Africa as the only ones which are available in the pet trade are the black uromastyx from Mali and the yellow ones from Egypt area.

Just to add here a bit...
This series of images show that these lizards actually get quite a bit bigger than what I'd originally envisioned, are the sizes shown here typical of the size that they grow to?

[Rob]

I count 90 something lizards in that bakkie (Yes I do have a job). You can be sure there are plenty more. And thats in a single catch.
Not right on so many levels.

How long can a population sustain itself? Madrule do you know if anyone farms these lizards for meat or is it simply help yourself out in the field?

[Buck Rogers]

Fredsmith, they vary in size the common one we have in the pet trade (like the ones which were available at the expo) are the red uromstayx and yellow uromstayx are quite small and grow to more or less the size of a beardie, but there are several species that grow to well over 5ft in length. You can see that large one in the pic had been caught in a snare because of the wounds around its neck.

[gaboon69]

Mmm...if this threatens the species' survival then I'd also be up in arms, else I might just close the eyes and try it with lemon herb or braai salt. If the locals dig it, then why not farm them like toads in Thailand?

[froot]

That lizard in the second last photo looks huge! Dumb question but can anybody ID it? Uromastyx aegyptius?

[Quintin]

The fourth pic with the dude holding the animal by the tail hanging is FAKE.

I want to see someone hold a lizzard with "That Size" with one arm!!!!! Also look at the lighting, The dude is in sunlight and the animal in shade. That lizzard was held by someone else (you can see it in the top of the pic).

Heartbreaking none the less!!!!!!!! These poor lizards!

but,

I know i hunt and eat biltong and meat. I have seen bakkies full of spingbok and blesbok that were hunted. Should we look at this in the same light as hunting antelope? Just a thought! (be gentle on me now)

Q