Intelligence is contagious

over 3 years ago

I've been subtly taking stock of my environment lately, and just absorbing nature. While doing some work in the backyard, I left the kitchen door open and noticed a Lizard run into the house. This is actually a common occurrence around here because this area is populated with this specie of lizard. However, something subtle and remarkable to me at least, happened when I tried to chase the lizard out.

_{Agama Agama}

I spend a lot of time on Nat Geo wild because I find animal behaviour to be fascinating. In one of their shows, they talked about the Racoon situation in the western world and it sort of reminds me of Lizards. Just like Racoons, Lizards absolutely love to rummage through garbage and they seem to eat just about anything from ants, roaches to vegetables.

Lizards are also quite nimble, and due to their reptilian nature, they can slither pass tiny spaces to achieve their target. Just like Racoons, Lizards don't mind waltzing into open spaces in households in search of food or mate. I always had a soft spot for lizards since at least they help me eat roaches and ants, plus I figured they weren't so bright but my observation sort of changes my perception.

I was at the back yard just doing normal chores and then I noticed two lizards run straight into the pantry of the kitchen. Now I'm not a lizard expert but every time I see animals run into anywhere, I just assume they're going there for food, mate or security. In this case, it was definitely food but what sparked my interest was the assertiveness it moved into the pantry with.

The two lizards ran into the pantry with the assuredness of a house owner and then started doing that their weird nodding thing. I decided to ignore them for a while, just to see what they're about because everything in there is stored inside plastic containers. Next thing I know, I see their mouths moving and it turns out they were nibbling on some of the grains or whatever that might have spilled on the floor.

I wasn't worried and neither were the lizards. They stood there, munching on whatever it was, with no care in the world. I had enough of their annoyingly smug faces, so I went into the kitchen to box them in. The plan was to trap them, give them a bit of a scare like I usually do at my place in Kaduna and then watch them quiver in fear at a dark corner. It might sound mean but most people just kill them anyway, so I think it is an act of kindness.

Anyway, I tried to frighten the lizards but they were largely unfazed by my presence. In fact, it turned out that I was the one who left the event scared because these bastards ran towards me and then out of the back door where I was just entering frim. I mean, I had no intentions of stomping on them or anything like that, so seeing them run towards me sort of made me uncomfortable.

Lizards aren't violent towards people, and I've never even seen or heard of anyone being bitten by this type of lizard before. However, these two bastards had the nerve to run towards me and then out the back. My inference from this event was that they've realised that I won't hurt them and so they just run out the door. I shared the story with my mum and she said it wasn't about me but a general theme with the lizards in this vicinity.

According to her the lizards that live around our house actually know the layout and move without fear. She continued that unlike in previous places where lizards could get trapped in dark crevices cowering in fear, Lizards in this house just run towards any of the doors or hide in a dark corner while waiting for a door to open.

My best guess is that these lizards have lived amongst people for long and decided to learn the layout of any place they rob food from. They also adapt to some basic human concepts like knowing food is in the kitchen, the use of doors and not to enter the bathroom where they could drown. There's probably some sophisticated explanation for this phenomenon but it is as fascinating as it is annoying that I can't scare the shit out of them anymore.