Rebecca brought one of her pets into the office the other day. She thought the little fellow deserved a bit of a change from his hum drum life - a special treat.
He’s called GT and he was obviously excited to be on a holiday. He was enjoying his visit to our office and the experience of a new environment.
Most of the team were pleased to see him and made him welcome. Well, those who spotted him made him welcome. You see, Rebecca didn’t really advertise his presence, she merely brought him in and put him near the window in his container and let him settle in.
Some of our team were a little shocked, who, when talking to Rebecca, sensed a movement in the corner of their eye. Startled, they skipped a heartbeat but soon warmed to the cheeky chappie.
My own first sight of him was when I saw him gazing wistfully out of the window of our 5th floor office. Just like a smart dog he sat at the window with his paws (?) on the sill and was clearly captivated with what was going on outside.
He was watching the traffic intently and peering at the Fitzroy in the background. His pleasure at being able to survey the busy cityscape was evident. His intelligence impressed me.
Yes, his obvious intelligence impressed me considerably because I didn’t realise that reptiles were particularly intelligent. GT is a Central Bearded Dragon.
The Bearded Dragon, is sometimes known as the Lizard of Oz. It’s a popular type of pet reptile, both here and around the world. The name comes from the beard-like frill that they have below their jaw. There are eight species in existence but the two most commonly kept as pets are the Western Bearded Dragon and the Central Bearded Dragon.
Rebecca breeds these lovely critters and has four adults and about 28 little juveniles. I asked Bec about the intelligence of the dragons.
She said, “They are intelligent but they don’t come when called, so I guess they don’t know their names.”
Bec explained how the dragons naturally fear any shadowy forms in the air and take cover suspecting birds of prey are hunting them. However, and this is the smart bit: Bec lives under the Rocky airport flight path and the dragons have learned over time to distinguish between birds of prey and aircraft. How about that?!
GT the Central Bearded Dragon has changed my view of the reptilian world.
Chris Skelding
February 2009
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