Lizards above 4000'

[dr_wu002]

I forgot to ask about this. When I was on Mt. Hight over the last Columbus Day Weekend, I was just kind of wandering around the summit when I saw what I thought was a little lizard dart into the brush. I got a barely decent look at it -- it definitely wasn't a mouse: it had a fatter tail and it's legs weren't where you'd expect them to be if it was a mouse. I followed it but it disappeared under some rocks.

I've seen wolf spiders, some assorted rodents and things high up (>4500') but this was the first time I thought I saw a lizard. I don't recall ever seeing a lizard in the Whites at all, so seeing one this high up made me wonder. I'm kind of skeptical that it was a lizard although it looked like a lizard and did not look like a rodent. What else could it be? Has anyone ever seen a lizard on an open summit in the Whites like this?

-Dr. Wu

 

[Little Rickie]

I saw a toad above 4,000 feet in the Adirondacks once. How it lived through the winter under all that snow I'll never know. It was not a bald peak and had lots of trees, scrub and duff.

 

[JacobH]

I saw a snake slither into the scrub at the very tip top of Flume one warm day in summer a few years ago (and a snake at tree line this year on Watson Path up Madison). That's the closest I've seen to a lizard though. It certainly seems to be habitat for some reptiles though?

 

[dr_wu002]

I saw a snake slither into the scrub at the very tip top of Flume one warm day in summer a few years ago (and a snake at tree line this year on Watson Path up Madison). That's the closest I've seen to a lizard though. It certainly seems to be habitat for some reptiles though?

Sounds reasonable. I bet the lizard that I saw ate the snake that you saw and the toad that Little Rickie saw.

-Dr. Wu

 

[ColdRiverRun]

I think you saw your reflection in a summit pool!

Ok, maybe on the other hand you saw a skink?

 

[brianW]

I don't believe there are any native lizards in NH. The only native lizard in New England I know of is the 5-line skink that is listed as a threatened species in CT and VT. I have plenty of these running around my house here in GA.

http://www.ct.gov/dep/cwp/view.asp?A=2723&Q=326006

http://wildlifeofct.com/five-lined skink.html

 

[psmart]

Beaver at 4000 feet!

My most unusual high-altitude animal encounter was a beaver on Mt Whiteface, just into the woods next to the summit ledges.

To be honest, I didn't see the beaver itself, although it had left a distinctive pile of stripped twigs and branches. The closest significant water is nearly a mile away and 500' lower, at the headwaters of Downes Brook.

 

[nartreb]

New Hampshire doesn't have a lot of lizards; a skink is possible but I bet they're rare as far north as the Whites. They have tails that (if undamaged - they can snap off!) are rather long in proportion to their bodies, and an overall snakelike feel to their movement.

(Based on your mention of mice, I'm thinking what you saw was too big to be a salamander.)

(NH has several small rodents besides mice, but they mostly have minuscule tails and they all have legs that are more mouselike than lizardlike.)

(I've seen toads above treeline - but they don't have tails.)

 

[ColdRiverRun]

My most unusual high-altitude animal encounter was a beaver on Mt Whiteface, just into the woods next to the summit ledges.

To be honest, I didn't see the beaver itself, although it had left a distinctive pile of stripped twigs and branches. The closest significant water is nearly a mile away and 500' lower, at the headwaters of Downes Brook.

A porky will do that and rabbits when the snow cover gets tough.

 

[gaiagirl]

Skinks are lizards and there are absolutely NO lizards in NH. Ony small parts of New England have skinks, but we're talking western Connectict pretty much. Could it have been a salamander Wu??? They aren't know to move terribly quickly, but I've seen redbacks move fast trying to get away from 3rd graders .

 

[Dave Bear]

I forgot to ask about this. When I was on Mt. Hight over the last Columbus Day Weekend, I was just kind of wandering around the summit when I saw what I thought was a little lizard dart into the brush. I got a barely decent look at it -- it definitely wasn't a mouse: it had a fatter tail and it's legs weren't where you'd expect them to be if it was a mouse. I followed it but it disappeared under some rocks.

I've seen wolf spiders, some assorted rodents and things high up (>4500') but this was the first time I thought I saw a lizard. I don't recall ever seeing a lizard in the Whites at all, so seeing one this high up made me wonder. I'm kind of skeptical that it was a lizard although it looked like a lizard and did not look like a rodent. What else could it be? Has anyone ever seen a lizard on an open summit in the Whites like this?

-Dr. Wu

Definitely a left over raptor from the Paleo period!

 

[rup]

Never say never. You may get an Art Bell lightning bolt in your butt.

 

[cushetunk]

Really unlikely it was a lizard, as others have noted. Salamanders are possible but are don't "dart" this time of year -- they move in very slow motion.

How about a mole of some type, though? Their legs would be more on the side, like a lizard. Like this, which is one of two species found in NH...

http://www.discoverlife.org/nh/tx/Vertebrata/Mammalia/Talpidae/Parascalops/breweri/

 

[Billy]

maybe someone was shooting a commercial for car insurance

 

[TDawg]

One time while climbing North Lafayette en route to the main summit, we came upon an Eastern Newt in its bright orange juvenile "red eft" stage. It was socked in at the time and quite chilly. No darting, but very slow movement. I was surprised to see one so high in elevation upwards of 5000 feet.

 

[kerry13]

Nothing surprises me anymore when it comes to nature. I haven't seen any lizards or salamanders in the high peaks, but every August, 1st or 2nd week, I am always treated to 10's and possibly 100's of tadpoles in the pools on the summit of Monadnock. These pools are right on the top, 5 ft below the summit, and a good distance from the east side pools which I suspect could provide reasonable habitat. I have never seen a frog on or near the summit or egg masses, but they appear every year as the photo will attest.

 

[sardog1]

One time while climbing North Lafayette en route to the main summit, we came upon an Eastern Newt in its bright orange juvenile "red eft" stage. It was socked in at the time and quite chilly. No darting, but very slow movement. I was surprised to see one so high in elevation upwards of 5000 feet.

Eastern Newt was my bet for what the good Dr. has seen. Here's video of one in the Dax at nearly 2700': The Goodnow Mountain Newt

 

[dr_wu002]

Eastern Newt was my bet for what the good Dr. has seen. Here's video of one in the Dax at nearly 2700': The Goodnow Mountain Newt

It wasn't a newt and certainly not an eft.

I guess it could be a mole but I felt like the tail was longer. It wasn't much larger than a mouse, thin, with a fatish tale and kind of pointy shaped. It looked, to me, scaly rather than furry. But I'll defer to those that say that there really aren't lizards in NH and certainly not roaming around >4000' and assume that what I saw was some kind of mole.

-Dr. Wu

 

[sierra]

Dont feel bad, one day I dropped off the Carter range into the Wild river valley. There I was sitting on a log when out in front of me ran a rabbit, he stood 3 ft tall, had ears that were at least 10 inches tall and rear feet that were at least 10 inches long. Nobody including game wardens ever believed me, but I tell you this, I saw it and that rabbit knows it.

 

[Little Rickie]

It wasn't a newt and certainly not an eft.

I guess it could be a mole but I felt like the tail was longer. It wasn't much larger than a mouse, thin, with a fatish tale and kind of pointy shaped. It looked, to me, scaly rather than furry. But I'll defer to those that say that there really aren't lizards in NH and certainly not roaming around >4000' and assume that what I saw was some kind of mole.

-Dr. Wu

I skink I newt but was toadly wrong.