It is so ubiquitous, so inescapable… when did this start? Does anyone know? Does it go back to the earliest days of film, was there a silent movie Lizard-On-A-Rock that started it all, or is it a more recent phenomenon?
And are there lizard wranglers who have trained rock-scrambling lizards ready to go any time there’s a dry and dusty scene to be shot?
And are there really THAT many lizards in the desert? I’ve never been a fan, but I have spent a little time in a desert or two, and I don’t’ recall seeing any lizards at all, much less lizards on every rock in sight.
I live in Tucson and see lizards pretty much every time I look outside. Last summer I saw a gecko on the outside of the glass sliding door almost every night just waiting for a bug to get close enough for him to pounce on.
its certainly true in Australia. Go to any arid area and you’ll see numerous lizards, big and small and certainly some of them will be sunbathing on rocks.
In San Jose on a warm day I’ll see 3 or 4 kinds of lizards on the trail. There used to be a good population of western fence and alligator lizards at my apartment complex…until people with cats moved in.
