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Protecting South Africa’s unique Lizard species from human-induced threats

Protecting South Africa’s unique Lizard species from human-induced threats

Protecting South Africa’s unique Lizard species from human-induced threats

Carina Bruwer, manager of the EWT Wildlife in Trade Unit

 

South Africa is a megadiverse country, with many of our species occurring nowhere else on Earth. It is also home to many weird and wonderful reptile species, including snakes, lizards and tortoises. These species have evolved to adapt to their unique habitats, with many occurring in only small pockets within the country.

These include the Armadillo Girdled Lizard (Ouroborus cataphractus) and the Giant Girdled Lizard, commonly known as the Sungazer Lizard (Smaug giganteus).

Armadillo Girdled Lizard, one of South Africa’s unique threatened reptile species

Figure 1: Source: EWT

Both members of the Cordylidae family, these lookalike, social lizards resemble little dragons and are covered in hard spiny scales, acting as armour against natural predators. The Armadillo Girdled Lizard is listed as Near Threatened by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), which assesses species based on their risk of extinction. Sungazers are listed as vulnerable, with the population currently decreasing. It is therefore imperative that we protect them and their precious habitats.

Armadillo Girdled Lizard

Armadillo Girdled lizards are social animals, living together in family groups in rocky outcrops in the Western and Northern Cape provinces. They feast primarily on insects, communicate through body language and can reach up to 16 cm in length. They can live up to 25 years and have low fecundity (a low reproduction rate). Females give birth to one or two offspring, which she may even feed, a behaviour quite uncommon for lizards. When threatened, they curl up into a ball, biting their tail to protect their soft bellies. This behaviour inspired their scientific name, which refers to the devouring of their tail. They can also drop their tails to distract predators, just like the geckos with whom many of us share our homes.

Sungazer Lizard

Sungazer lizards occupy the highveld grasslands of Mpumalanga and the Free State, with some recorded in KwaZulu-Natal. Unlike most other reptiles, they are oviparous. They reproduce only every second or third year and give birth to one to three live young. Averaging a length of about 22cm, they are the largest of the girdled lizard species in the Cordylidae family. They can live up to about 21 years of age in the wild. Their common name is derived from their basking behaviour with their heads turned to the sky. Like Armadillo Girdled Lizards, Sungazers are also social animals, living in groups in their underground burrows.

Sungazer Lizard in its natural South African grassland habitat

Left: Figure 2: Source: Shivan Parusnath. Right: Figure 3: Source: EWT

National and international legal protection

Based on their unique contribution to the biodiversity of South Africa and their precarious conservation status, both species are listed on the National Environmental Management: Biodiversity Act (NEMBA) Threatened or Protected Species (ToPS) List. Activities like harvesting, killing, buying, selling or exporting of the species are therefore strictly regulated nationally and require a permit. Violating NEMBA can result in a R10 million fine, 10 years imprisonment, or both. The species are also protected in provincial legislation. Because both species occur in the international pet trade, they are also listed on Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), requiring strict controls and export permits before the species can be traded internationally.

Their natural armour cannot withstand human threats

Most reptiles are shy creatures, and this is no different for Armadillo Girdled and Sungazer lizards. Unlike agama lizards who happily illustrate their push-up abilities to appreciative human observers, Armadillo Girdled Lizards and Sungazer Lizards keep to themselves, sheltering in rock crevices and burrows out of harm’s way. While startled Sungazers make a beeline to their underground burrows, making you question whether you ever truly saw them, Armadillo Girdled Lizards curl up into a tight ball when feeling threatened, attempting to protect their soft bellies. Unfortunately, these defences against their natural predators have not kept them safe from human interference.

Both species face significant threat from the illegal harvesting of wild individuals for the international pet trade, while Sungazers are also harvested for traditional use. Sungazers’ grassland habitats are also shrinking at worrying speed as a result of agricultural practices, mining and development. This habitat transformation has caused the Sungazer population to decline by an estimated 48%.

Because of their slow reproduction rates, both species struggle to recover from these human impacts. Bar a handful of exceptions, Sungazers are also not known to breed in captivity.  Coupled with their weak ability to adapt to new environments after being removed from illegal trade or translocated due to development,  their capacity to recover population losses is weak.

Sungazer Lizard threatened by habitat loss and illegal wildlife trade in South Africa

Left: Figure 4: Armadillo Girdled lizards seized from a Spanish citizen in Vredendal in 2025. Source: Cape Argus. Right: Figure 5: Armadillo Girdled Lizards intercepted by CapeNature (source CapeNature)

Illegal harvesting and trade

Their unique characteristics make both the Armadillo Girdled Lizards and Sungazer Lizards a sought after species in the international reptile market, with reptile enthusiasts vying to own them as pets or for display purposes. Only legally obtained individuals may be traded internationally and only if authorised after a finding that trade in the species will not be detrimental. The harvesting and trade of wild individuals is therefore prohibited. Because of the negative impact of illegal trade on Sungazers, and the fact that successful breeding in captivity remains to be proven, no trade in Sungazers, wild or captive-bred, is currently allowed.

While legal wildlife trade is regulated by permits, illegal trade takes place outside formal structures and is intentionally obscured. Quantifying illegal trade is therefore more challenging, but is anecdotally assumed when colonies disappear from previously recorded locations without any other known reason or proven mortality,  or when lizards are offered for sale at reptile fairs or online marketplaces, with no evidence of being captive-bred. The legal trade has also been used to launder wild-harvested specimens under the guise of being captive-bred. This is why proving parentage in captive-bred specimens is vital to prove that an animal was not wild-harvested.

Both Sungazer and Armadillo Girdled Lizards are included in the South African Sensitive Species List, highlighting the need to restrict access to species data and information on wild populations that could cause them to be removed from the wild.

Habitat transformation

Armadillo Girdled Lizards’ rocky habitats are not currently considered under significant threat, although challenges like climate change, habitat fragmentation and invasive alien plants do negatively impact them. The situation is much more dire for the Sungazer, as 50% of its grassland habitat has  been transformed and continues to shrink due to agricultural development, urbanisation and surging mining.

South African girdled lizards protected from illegal trade and human-induced threats

Figure 6: Sungazer lizards seized at a PostNet. Source: IOL

Traditional use

Sungazers are also used in Africa Traditional Medicine. This use is regulated through permits, but if harvesting takes place illegally or unsustainably, the impact of this use will further contribute to the species’ decline.  

Looking ahead at species conservation goals

A Biodiversity Management Plan is currently being drafted for Sungazers. It is hoped that once this plan is finalised and approved, it will act as the guideline for conservation of the species to ensure their longterm survival in the wild. But urgent funding is needed to improve our understanding of both species, including how to increase their chance of survival when human interference has already removed them from their habitats. Whether this is translocation to a new grassland due to a mining application being granted in prime Sungazer habitat, or finding a new rocky home for illegally harvested Armadillo Girdled Lizards seized from the trade. Funding is also needed to care for seized individuals, allowing them the best possible opportunity to be returned to their wild habitats. Imagine the impact of a dedicated reptile refuge where seized or injured individuals can recover before going back home!

What can you do to protect South Africa’s unique reptiles? 

  • Educate yourself and teach others about South Africa’s wild and wonderful reptiles.
  • Appreciate reptiles in their natural habitat and do not post their exact locations online.
  • Wild reptiles are not pets. Never buy a reptile unless you can establish its legal origin, and even then, consider if it is in the best interest of the animal to be kept in captivity.
  • Protect their habitats by participating in land use applications during public participation processes.
  • Report any suspicious activity to the police, provincial conservation authorities or the EWT.
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Uncurling a Future: The Release of 98 Armadillo Girdled Lizards

Uncurling a Future: The Release of 98 Armadillo Girdled Lizards

Uncurling a Future: The Release of 98 Armadillo Girdled Lizards

By Renier Basson, EWT Drylands Conservation Field Officer

 

Armadillo Girdled Lizard release in the Northern Cape

 

The Armadillo Girdled Lizard (Ouroborus cataphractus) is one of South Africa’ s most remarkable reptiles. Endemic to the western regions of the country, these heavily armoured lizards inhabit rocky outcrops and sandstone crevices across the Succulent Karoo. Their diet consists mainly of insects, especially Southern Harvester Termites (Microhodotermes viator), with the occasional supplement of plant material.

Their most iconic behaviour is their unique defence strategy: when threatened, they clamp their tail in their mouth and curl into a tight, spiny ball. This posture shields their soft underparts and presents a ring of sharp, protective scales to predators. This striking shape resembles the ancient ouroboros symbol of a tail-biting creature, which appears in multiple mythological traditions (and heavily in Japanese visual culture). This resemblance is what inspired the genus name Ouroborus.

Unlike most reptiles, Armadillo Girdled Lizards give birth to live young, usually one or two per year, and mothers have even been recorded feeding their offspring. They are also unusually social: groups of up to 60 individuals may occupy a single crevice, forming long-term colonies that rely on the stability of their rocky habitat.

Despite their resilience, these charismatic lizards face increasing threats. Habitat fragmentation, invasive alien plants, shifting fire regimes, and climate change (particularly changes affecting termite availability) all put pressure on wild populations.

But, the most urgent threat is poaching. The Armadillo Girdled Lizard is now considered one of the most heavily trafficked reptiles in southern Africa. Growing overseas demand for the exotic pet trade has resulted in hundreds being removed from the wild every year. Recently, authorities confiscated a staggering 104 individuals in the Northern Cape.

The confiscated lizards were transported to the Kokerboom Biological Research Station near Springbok, where they received intensive care, under supervision of the African Snakebite Institute (ASI).  The individuals were all monitored while regaining their strength in the hope that they could be released back into the wild. The Northern Cape Department of Agriculture, Environmental Affairs, Rural Development and Land Reform (DAERL) contacted numerous agencies and experts to assess the potential of releasing the confiscated animals back into the wild. It was agreed that a release was possible, as the approximate poaching locality was known, and the joint effort among partners such as DAERL, the EWT, the SA National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI) and ASI ensured that a suitable site with a willing landowner could be identified to receive the rehabilitated animals.

Before releasing the lizards, DAERL and EWT officials surveyed the identified private property to determine whether the habitat was suitable – ultimately selecting roughly twelve sites that met the species’ ecological requirements.

Unfortunately, due to the poor conditions in which the Armadillo Girdled Lizards were found, six individuals did not survive. Most of the remaining 98 lizards were implanted with passive integrated transponder (PIT) tags to allow for identification upon recapture, as part of the long-term monitoring. The individuals were then separated into seven mixed-age groups and released across the preselected sites. Upon release, the lizards quickly disappeared into their new crevices.

The lizards are being monitored to determine whether they have settled into their new home. The collected data will guide future decisions on relocations and the management of confiscated Armadillo Girdled Lizards in the Northern Cape. It is hoped that this information will inform decisions regarding the vast number of confiscated individuals still held in captivity in the Western Cape.

This release represents a major milestone for Armadillo Girdled Lizard conservation. However, the challenges are far from over. Demand from the illegal pet trade continues to grow, and once animals leave the country, they are almost impossible to recover. What we can do is raise awareness, avoid sharing GPS coordinates of sightings, refrain from posting identifiable habitat features online, and support enforcement agencies by reporting suspicious activities.

Every confiscated lizard represents both a loss and an opportunity. With collaboration, vigilance, and continued research, South Africa can protect this species – ensuring that the iconic, tail-biting “ouroboros” of South Africa remains safely coiled within its rocky landscape.

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