Lizard Education Materials

These short-horned lizards, aka horny toads, are a common sight when you visit the Pawnee National Grasslands in the warm months. While these small reptiles prefer to run or freeze and camouflage when in danger, they have also evolved some other pretty cool defense mechanisms! Some of these include sharp spines along their body, the ability to inflate their body to help look bigger and prevent being swallowed, and sometimes they even shoot blood out their orbital sinuses near their eyes. Whether big or small, every wildlife species in NoCo is unique and full of surprises!