Guatemalan zoo breeds rare lizards in bid to save endangered species

GUATEMALA CITY: Conservationists ‌in Guatemala are breeding a new generation of Guatemalan beaded lizards, one of the world’s most endangered lizards, in the hopes of rebuilding wild populations decimated by habitat loss and their popularity in the illegal pet trade. Heloderma charlesbogerti, also known as “niño dormido” (sleeping child in Spanish), are endemic to the thornscrub of Guatemala’s Motagua Valley, ‌one of the ‌driest regions in Central America. Rowland ‌Griffin, ⁠the head of ⁠La Aurora zoo’s conservation project, estimated there are just 500 to 700 wild adults left.