Blunt-nosed leopard lizards (Gambelia sila) are generally active from mid-spring to early fall, entering a period of brumation during the winter months. The California Department of Fish and Wildlife survey methods are designed around the optimum times for detection: April 15 to July 15 (adults) and August 15 to September 30 (hatchlings). After protocol surveys had been completed with negative results, McCormick Biological, Inc. staff detected a blunt-nosed leopard lizard, possibly young of the year, during site preparation work for a project. To ensure avoidance, we monitored the individual daily as it foraged in nearby habitat. Biologists noted foraging, nightly burrow selection, movements and weather between October 12 and November 22. Adults of this species have been found to be opportunistic foragers, lying in wait for insects and occasionally other lizards. In addition to consuming insects, the individual we observed pursued more lizards than we expected, consuming several over the observation period. Burrow construction and use of existing burrows were both observed. These observations are of value in understanding conservation considerations and habitat use expected of this species.

Describing the space use and activity patterns of endangered animals is important to implementing effective conservation strategies. Historically, collecting sufficient data on small-bodied species was challenging due to constraints of manual tracking and short battery life. The development of miniaturized tracking devices, such as UHF (ultra-high frequency) transmitters, has provided opportunities to better understand the ecology of many smaller-bodied species and assess conservation efforts. The blunt-nosed leopard lizard (BNLL; Gambelia sila) is an endangered species endemic to the San Joaquin Desert of Central California. We have been releasing captive-produced BNLL to bolster an almost-extirpated population on Panoche Plateau, Fresno County, where we installed an automated telemetry system of >150 remote nodes. In June 2024, we released 10 captive-reared BNLL equipped with UHF backpacks and later equipped four wild-reared lizards near the end of July. We monitored lizards with a combination of hand and automated tracking. We were able to use trilateration methods to estimate >37,000 lizard locations with a median error of ~27 meters, providing data to better quantify home ranges and habitat selection. Additionally, we used data from the remote telemetry system to predict when lizards are likely below ground, and to detect late season activity.

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.

The California legless lizard genus (Anniella) is endemic to California and Baja California. Anniella are primarily fossorial and forage for larval and adult invertebrates in loose soil and leaf litter. This genus is known to reach sexual maturity at approximately 120 millimeters snout-to-vent length and give birth to live young. Although Anniella inhabit various vegetation communities and soil types, this group has key habitat requirements: layer of plant litter, shrub or tree communities, and undisturbed soils. Each of these features provide a root system, shade, moisture retention, and/or soil aeriation. In 2013, Papenfuss and Parham divided the one accepted species, Anniella pulchra, into five species. California Department of Fish and Wildlife continues to manage Anniella as a single taxon, while acknowledging the proposed nomenclature. Papenfuss continues sampling efforts for Anniella and collaborates on building robust genetic tools to better determine Anniella phylogenetics and taxonomy. Anniella pulchra was listed as a Species of Special Concern by the California Department of Fish and Game in 2004 and were protected from take in 2013. Current conservation threats include loss of native habitats to exotic weeds (e.g. post-wildfire colonization), agriculture, and urbanization of suitable habitat.

Blunt-nosed Leopard Lizards (Gambelia sila) are federal- and state-endangered lizards endemic to San Joaquin Desert habitat in central California. As with many endangered species, not all life-stages are equally understood. Most studies of G. sila focus on adults during the spring reproductive season, due to challenges accessing other stages (both biological and regulatory). In 2020, Fresno Chaffee Zoo received emergency permission to create a G. sila breeding colony for Panoche Plateau in the hopes of repatriating offspring and restoring this isolated population. An auxillary benefit of this colony is that it provides unprecedented access to G. sila during their more elusive life-stages, such as hatchlings during their first fall. We report on a suite of early-life traits measured in captive-reared G. sila (N = 152) including primary sex ratio, growth rate, symmetry, and thermal preference. We then compare these values to the limited observations available for wild animals in the field. Our results confirm that our incubation and rearing conditions produce G. sila with traits similar to those observed in the wild and provide new details about the natural history of this unique and endangered species.

The yellow-backed spiny lizard, Sceloporus magister uniformis, is well known from the Mojave Desert, where it is widespread and abundant. It is less well known from Central California. We report on an intensive survey effort conducted in 2024 where we sought out S. m. uniformis across its potential range in the San Joaquin and western Mojave Desert, using visual surveys and scat detection dogs / genotyping from scat. We found S. m. uniformis to be widely but patchily present in the western San Joaquin Valley and associated ranges from the Panoche Hills in the north to the Lokern region in the south. The species was found to be present in the Transverse Ranges to the south of the San Joaquin Valley and abundant in the western Mojave. Preferred habitat was rock outcrops and anthropogenic structure such as riprap in desert washes. Temperature preferences ranged from about 18C to 30C, and the species could be observed March-October whenever the temperature was within these bounds. We present an updated map of its distribution in central California. This large lizard deserves increased attention due to its potential endemism and restriction to the San Joaquin Desert biome.