One of them, ranger Juan Alvarado, dedicated the last 17 years of his life to saving the cursed creature from extinction.
Alvarado, 68, works in a forest reserve at the Zacapa branch in Guatemala that is committed to saving Guatemala’s pearl lizard (Heloderma charlesbogerti), nicknamed Nino Dormido among locals for its clumsy gait.
Skillfully handles a specimen, rescued from a nearby village, skillfully holding it through the head and frame and gently slamming it to the ground.
Seemingly bewildered, the lizard is eclipsed among the undergrowth.
“People said that if you see a Heloderma, dead,” Alvarado said of the reptile’s bad reputation.
Although the lizard bites painfully, it is rarely fatal to humans which, however, is a mortal enemy.
Plans to save the creature include encouraging villagers to bring lost specimens into the park, in exchange for food payments.
Its venom, Alvarado explained, was being studied for an imaginable use in curing diseases such as diabetes and cancer.
Still, the creature has a terrifying reputation, and Americans who stray into spaces inhabited by humans die.
The number of Sleeping Child lizards has been further decimated due to human invasion of their limited habitat, weather update, and capture for sale as exotic pets.
At some point, they can generate up to $2,000 in Europe, Alvarado said.
Given the multitude of threats, Guatemalan conservation officials estimate that only about six hundred Americans remain in the world, a backlog of two hundred two decades ago.
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