Meera Bhardwaj @ Ganeshgudi:
Known for its excellent camouflage, the southern flying lizard or the Indian Flying Lizard are endemic to Western Ghats & some hill forests.
However, forest fragmentation and habitat loss has shown a decline in their numbers especially in the rainforests of southern India.
At Ganeshgudi, Joida taluk of Uttar Kannada district, Karnataka, I had an opportunity to see and observe these Draco lizards or the Western Ghats Flying Lizard.
It was fascinating to watch when it was gliding from tree to tree so beautifully by flapping its yellowish wing like patagium (a membranous structure found in various animals that assists them in gliding or flying). In fact, it is a fold of skin that extends between the limbs and body, creating a surface area for lifting or gliding.
Green Minute News takes a look at the southern flying lizard species which is known as Draco dussumieri and found in the Western Ghats.
It took my breath away to see it gliding from tree to tree effortlessly like the arboreal monkeys. It is a terrific glider and a master camouflagic species.
This is to stress that when it gets ready to take off, one has to wait very patiently before the southern flying lizard decides to glide to another tree and perfectly lands on the adjacent tree.
It is not so easy to sight them on the bark of the trees as it cleverly camouflages itself so well. The way it hides on the tree bark – it is very hard to sight them being of the same brown and gray colors as the tree bark.
However, if one keeps a gaze continuously on the tree bark, even a slight movement can be successful for sighting them amidst the stillness of the species. And it is surprising to see its typical lizard like body sketched or imprinted on the bark.
Even its movement is very less and it can stay at one place for a long time unless it is hunting for its food like insects, ants and termites.
Known for its subtle movements, the Draco lizards can make its move to hunt for its prey without much effort. The prey can hardly detect its presence, making it difficult to escape.
According to scientific studies, this lizard cannot actually fly but it has a membrane of skin (yellowish-green colored wing like patagium that helps in giving lift to fly). This is stretched between its thoracic ribs that helps it to glide from tree to tree.
The Draco lizards are known for its arboreal lifestyle and never descends to ground and prefer to stay on the bark of trees. This way, they can escape from predatory birds.
The Draco lizards use a membrane of the skin stretched between its ribs to act like wings, thereby, enabling it to glide very smoothly from tree to tree. Males have colorful patagium compared to females.
The southern flying lizards are known to glide to a distance of up to 100-200 feet. The Dandeli Wildlife Sanctuary is a well known spot for spotting these lizards apart from other wildlife.
These southern flying lizards are highly territorial and are known to inhabit either one or few trees. They are basically tree dwelling species and rarely descend to the ground.
Their territory is usually guarded by males while females are free ranging moving across the forests but she moves to the ground only once to lay eggs on the ground.
Their habitat includes forests, teak and areca nut plantations and also shrub jungles. In India, it is only found only in the southern parts and that too in the Eastern and Western Ghats.
Further, they are never found on the floor of forests and inhabit mostly tropical rainforests and evergreen forests. They are found all along the Western Ghat bound states of Karnataka, Goa, Tamil Nadu, Kerala.
Although classified as of “Least Concern” under the IUCN Red List, the Western Ghats flying lizards are declining due to loss of their unique forest habitat due to plantation, farming, and developmental activities.
As per research studies, the species shows a decline in fragmented rain forests. However, there is need for more studies to ascertain the effect of developmental activities on this endemic species of Western Ghats.
(PHOTO CREDIT: ALL PHOTOS BY MEERA BHARDWAJ AT GANESHGUDI, UTTAR KANNADA DISTRICT)