Common Lizard (Zootoca vivipara)
If you are having a quiet walk on the Common on a warm, sunny day you may hear a scuttling in the leaf litter, or catch a quick movement by the path; this could be a Common Lizard and if you are very still it may re- appear. These small lizards hibernate during the winter, re- emerging in the spring and, unlike many other reptiles, after mating it incubates its eggs inside its body so the young are ‘born’ rather than hatching from an externally laid clutch of eggs. They have another clever trick – if they feel threatened, they can shed their tail, which will detach, still wriggling, so distracting the predator while they escape.
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