Lizard or Possum?

In my “Blue Tongues and Snappy dogs" item, I told how we sometimes take out dogs up to my mother’s place and how she encourages the wild Blue Tongue Lizards to stay there and even refers to them as her “Pets”. Well last week we went up there and I was again watering and again heard the dogs barking insistently at something. I again stopped what I was doing just in case. By this time my wife was coming from the other direction and I saw the dogs attacking at something. One even had it in his mouth. Well we screamed and he dropped it and they both backed off quick smart. As I was heading for that spot my wife came up the path and told me that she had found the lizard, about 20feet from where I was looking, and it looked dead. At first I thought it had to be another lizard, but not finding one where I looked I began to think that the dog must have carried it off unseen by me, although I really didn’t think that was possible.

Anyway I went over and looked at it and it sure didn’t look to healthy. Now I don’t think I am a wimp but there was no way I was going to pick it up in my bare hands! So I got a stick and gave it a couple of gentle prods, to little reaction. If it wasn’t dead , it sure looked close to it.

At this point I freaked out. Not so much at the death of the Lizard although that was bad, but at what my mother would say when we told her. Something along the lines of, “Your blanky blank dogs killed my pet.” But with more feeling and emphasis than I can put on paper.

Any way I decide that I had better remove and bury the body, so went off and got a large square mouth shovel. But when I got back, the lizard was gone. Again I thought the dogs must have somehow snuck back and took it. However glancing yup I saw movement and here was the lizard going down 4 big, high steps. At that point he saw me and started to stop but also saw the dogs in the distance so took off again and went across the path and down under an old tank where he was again safe.

No he was not dead or seriously hurt just playing Possum. That is he was acting dead until the danger past. And as soon as it was he headed out of the danger zone as fast as he could. Not fast enough to avoid detection but fast enough to avoid further attacks and possible danger.

I don’t know what you think but I think we can learn a lot from that Blue Tongue Lizard.

Yes sometimes we will need to fight back and protect ourselves but not when it will lead to our destruction. Sometimes when our enemies outnumber us or are too strong for us we simply have to “Play Dead” and get out of the trouble area as fast as we can, so that we can regroup and if necessary, fight back but on our own terms and not our enemies.

What say you? Walter