The Gila Monster

Carrie (0:01)

Hi, y'all.

We have some wild news to share. Wild and Kind Kids is a finalist for a Signal Award for Best Kids Podcast. And grownups, we would love your vote. You can visit wildandkindkids.com and click the pop-up before October 15th. Thanks so much for your support. But now, it's time for the show.

Oh, hi, Wild and Kind Kids.

SPEAKER_3 (0:30)

Hi.

Carrie (0:32)

Are you ready to amble?

SPEAKER_3 (0:34)

Wait, what? What's ambling?

Carrie (0:36)

Okay, stick with me. Today we're headed to the desert, where the days are hot and the shade can be hard to find. And we are on the trail for something to eat. So if you've got room to move, I want you to get low to the ground and walk on all fours. Think about how low can your belly go? And if you're buckled in a car seat, you can do this one right where you are. Just get those shoulders ready to sway. Okay, so an amble is kind of a slow movement. As you move, I want you to sway back and forth. Now remember, an amble is slow. So keep moving, keep swaying, but keep it slow.

We're swaying from side to side.

We are not...

We're not in a huge hurry. I want you to imagine you've got a big heavy tail behind you. Just kind of sway it back and forth. Nice hip movement, Lincoln. All right, Lysie, can you sway that tail? Oh, very nice. A little longer. All right, how did that feel?

SPEAKER_3 (1:49)

It feels weird.

John (1:50)

It felt weird?

Carrie (1:52)

Well, just then, you were moving almost exactly like today's animal. Who would move that slow through the desert? Let's get learning.

I'm Carrie and I grew up on a zoo.

Lincoln (2:08)

I'm Lincoln.

Eliza (2:10)

I'm Eliza.

SPEAKER_3 (2:11)

And we're wild about animals.

Eliza (2:14)

Welcome to the Wild and Kind Kids Podcast.

Carrie (2:22)

Well, hello, Lincoln and Eliza.

SPEAKER_3 (2:24)

Hi, Mom.

Carrie (2:26)

Today's animal was requested by not one kid, not two kids, but five Wild and Kind listeners, Elijah, Huck, Jace, Colt, and Cora.

SPEAKER_3 (2:40)

Hi, Eliza. Hi, Huck. Hi, Jace. Hi, Colt. Hi, Cora.

Carrie (2:45)

Let's see if our listeners can guess what animal five kids requested. Here are three clues.

Carrie (2:51)

Clue number one.

Carrie (2:53)

Today's animal is a lizard, and it is the largest lizard native to the United States.

Clue number two. They have a snorty hiss, which might have helped inspire their monstrous name. And clue number three. They are one of only a small number of lizards in the world that are venomous.

Eliza (3:18)

All right.

Carrie (3:18)

You all know what it is. What is it?

SPEAKER_3 (3:20)

Gila Monster.

Eliza (3:22)

Yes.

Carrie (3:24)

Now the name monster might make you picture something enormous, but in reality, Gila Monsters can grow to be about 22 inches long. The length of a newborn baby, if you have a little sibling, but that's still pretty big for a lizard in North America. They walk low to the ground with short, sturdy legs, a broad head and a big thick tail. And their bodies are covered with patches and bands of black, mixed with pink, orange or yellow.

And if you ran into one of them in the wild, you might notice it flicking its forked tongue in and out. That's how Gila Monsters collect tiny scent particles from the world around them. Just like we talked about in our Komodo Dragon episode, and they use a special organ at the roof of their mouths, to figure out what they're smelling. It's almost like they're tasting the air. But if you wanted to see a Gila Monster in the wild, you'd have to amble all the way down to the deserts of the American Southwest and Northwestern Mexico.

But Lincoln and Eliza, what did you learn about the Gila Monster?

SPEAKER_3 (4:38)

They can bite down and hold for more than 10 minutes.

10 minutes, y'all. 10 minutes!

Carrie (4:45)

Yes, that is true. Gila Monsters have incredibly strong jaws. So when they bite, they can hold on for a very long time.

And if that wasn't enough to make you shiver, they have venom. So first, a quick refresher on venom versus poison. Can anybody tell me the difference?

SPEAKER_3 (5:07)

Venom gets injected into you, and poison, you have to like, touch something or eat something.

Carrie (5:15)

Yeah.

A helpful way to think about it is if an animal bites you or stings you to deliver it, it's venom. If you eat it or touch it, it's poison. And Gila Monsters are one of the world's few venomous lizards.