Blunt-nosed Leopard Lizards (Gambelia sila) are federal- and state-listed endangered species endemic to California’s San Joaquin Desert. One adaptation for living in harsh desert habitats is an abbreviated active season in spring and early summer. However, their capacity for activity in the “off season” during late summer and winter is not well understood. Understanding the seasonality and timing of emergence from winter torpor of this endangered species is critical for in situ monitoring. The G.sila assurance colony housed at Fresno Chaffee Zoo’s Conservation Action Center(FCZ/CAC) provides a unique opportunity for understanding activity patterns, especially during periods when activity is less frequent. At FCZ/CAC, G. sila are maintained under naturalistic seasonal cycles designed to mimic natural changes in temperature, photo period, and humidity levels, but conditions never become as harsh as possible in the wild. Under these idealized conditions, G. sila are active both earlier and later in the year than typically understood, from mid-February until early October. Monitoring G.sila under naturalistic captive conditions can help us make better-informed decisions about when to monitor or plan anthropogenic activities around natural populations of G. sila.

Steven Sharp is a Zoological Animal Manager at Fresno Chaffee Zoo(FCZ), he manages the Zoological care specialist team that cares for the zoo's Herpetology collection. He is also responsible for managing the husbandry and reproduction of FCZ's conservation program with the Blunt-nosed leopard lizard. Steven has worked at some of the top zoo's in the US over the past 10 years, focusing on herpetology. Steven is currently pursuing his MS in Biology at California State University Fresno, focusing his thesis on the Blunt-nosed leopard lizards.