Bells Phase Lacy

[Fuscus]

Had the "fortune" to drop into Charlie Moreland park a week or so ago. This used to be chockers with lacies but this trip ut it took me almost 10 minutes to spot the first half dozen. Including this amazing colored bells phase

 

[Fuscus]

and

 

[Fuscus]

unfortunatly

 

[redline]

wow nice how long is he?

 

[Livewire]

Awesome creature's, Fuscus. Excellent photography. Well done.

 

[Fuscus]

The animal was a young adult, whould have been about 1.1 meters if it had the full tail. Interestingly I have seen very few older animals this year but loads of sub adults. At Inskip point I saw about 6 lacies and all were small, about .8 of a meter

 

[redline]

Wow fuscus they r so nice. I love the way they look

 

[thals]

great looking lacey, well done snapping up the pics too

 

[zen]

Great photos of beautiful specimens there Fuscus. 8)

You're brave getting that close. :shock: Those claws sure look sharp!

 

[Fuscus]

You're brave getting that close. :shock: Those claws sure look sharp!

Lacies generally warn you if you are too close by puffing up and trying to look big. They may also warn you by lashing with there tail ( that hurts too ). This guy was on a tree and would have run up it if I entered its comfort zone, but saying that I was only 2 meters away

 

[zen]

Just two metres away !!!
Now that takes courage!

They certainly are formidable predators, with five weapons in their armoury.
I don't think they fear anything when fully grown.
I've seen one confidently push a dog off it's dinner at a camping ground! The dog didn't even think about challenging the 2 metre king of the bush. It wasn't a small dog either. :lol:

 

[Fuscus]

I've only had trouble with 2 lacys out of the hundreds I've seen. Both Bells too.
The first was at Warrunbungles, there was a fox and the rangers were trying to trap it.For three nights they trapped the lacy and I think they roughed it up a little so that the trap remained empty. Anyhow, along comes me and sticks a camera in its face. Note that the animal is in threat/defense mode. A shot with the tail and a snap convinced me to leave the animal alone

 

[Fuscus]

The second problem was at Sundown NP and was mye fault. There was one hanging around and I threw it a peice of ham which it wolfed down. It then looked around for more, I didn't have my boots on and it saw my feet.

My bare feet.
My bare, pink feet.
My bare, pink, juicy feet.

Its amazing how fast a lacy can move when food is at stake.
Its also amazing how fast I can move when my feet are at stake.

I was able to put my boots on while holding the lacy at bay using a camera monopod. Once the boots were on he settled down and we were able to co exist quite happerly, in fact he hung around for a couple of hours and helped keep other campers away.

 

[crutch2]

great shots fuscus love the bells phase

 

[danw]

awesome pics...they are huge!

 

[zen]

Top shots Fuscus 8)

Awesome animals! Look at the claws on that last one :shock:

Correction, they've got at least 7 weapons in their armoury :-

4 heavily clawed & powerful limbs
A strong pair of jaws and needle sharp teeth
Powerful whip tail
A long flexible neck that can turn around to bite a hand restraining the forelimbs
and newly discovered "venomous" saliva !
Not to mention its incredible strength.

I've caught them occasionally on my own, which is very hairy.
They ideally need two brave people as you really need 4 hands!
Best left alone I reckon.
RESPECT !!!

That's a classic story about the ham and bare feet :lol: :lol: :lol:
My imagination painted an hilarious scene :lol:
That would've made a great video to watch !
Only funny afterwards though eh! :wink:


Cheers John

 

[BIGTOE]

.

I dont know anything about lizards but I found this one coming out of my tent up at forster.
what kind is it????

 

[zen]

Hi Bigtoe. Nice pics 8)

I assume you zoomed in for that head shot!
You must have been game for that second shot though.
Lucky you didn't have ham in your pocket or bare feet :lol: :lol:
Looks like it's checking in that shot :wink:

That's definitely a Lace Goanna - Varanus varius.

Same species as the Bells phase that Fuscus put up.
The Bells are only found west of the Great Dividing Range, whereas the regular Lacies tend to be found throughout the species range.
Both phases appear to occur together out west, in most, if not all populations.
Coastal Lacies are predominantly like the your one.


That big old dude looks like it's a regular scavenger of camp scraps and is used to people.

You've got to love these characters :lol:
One of my favourite lizards 8)

 

[africancichlidau]

wow nice how long is he?

Unfortunately, not as long as he should have been

 

[africancichlidau]

Excellent shots Fuscy, you've not lost ya touch mate