Earth Day: Panoche Hills Blunt-nosed Leopard Lizard update

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The endangered Blunt-nosed Leopard Lizard (Gambelia sila), with the help of Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Fresno Chaffee Zoo, will again be released into the Panoche Hills Recreation Area this spring. 

In 2021, as the agency was preparing for a release in Panoche, BLM biologist Mike Westphal said the lizard would not disappear. “Not on my watch,” Westphal told Benitolink. 

Westphal, who works from the BLM’s Central Coast Field Office, continues his work with the reptile and next month, along with representatives from Fresno’s Chaffee Zoo, he will release 35 individuals. 

According to a news release from the bureau, the species decline is directly associated with habitat loss. “Blunt-nosed leopard lizards are only found in the San Joaquin Desert of Central California, within the San Joaquin Valley and adjacent foothills, as well as the Carrizo Plain and Cuyama Valley,” the news release said. 

With a long tail, long, powerful legs and a short, blunt snout, adult males range between 3.4 and 4.7 inches in length, excluding their tail and females are between 3.4 and 4.4 inches in length, excluding the tail. Their diet mainly consists of an assortment of invertebrates and other lizards.

Westphal said BLM and its partners have brought in sheep this year to graze on the non-native invasive grasses in the recreation area, which disrupt the natural ecosystem. Rory Telemeco, director of conservation at the Fresno Chaffee Zoo, told BenitoLink that as of now the lizards prefer the edges of roadways, as vegetation is not so abundant. He added that following the heavy 2023 rains, the grasses were abundant and the lizards used the roadways much more. 

Blunt-nosed leopard lizards like sparsely vegetated land and use rodent burrows for coverage from the harsh desert heat. This can leave them open to predation. Four lizards released in 2024 survived the winter; three were then to predation by a greater roadrunner (Geococcyx californianus) and a loggerhead shrike (Lanius ludovicianus). The lone surviving lizard shares a range with a breeding wild hatched female.

Telemeco said egg laying among captive Blunt-nosed Leopard Lizards was down last year and about 50 percent of the eggs hatched. There is some concern about inbreeding and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the California Department of Fish and Game have granted the program permission to take breeding adults from Panoche Hills and the Panoche Plateau. Westphal added they are working with several geneticists to prevent further inbreeding issues.

Telcmeco said there are criteria for release: Bare ground with six-inch rodent burrows nearby; close proximity to a roadway; shade plants; good weather; and ground temperature from the mid 80s to the mid 90s. All lizards released this year are yearlings that have reached sexual maturity. They are equipped with radio collars stronger than prior years that will allow monitoring through the winter. 

According to Telemeco the program at Panoche has national recognition. In 2024 it received the North American Conservation Award from the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) and in 2025 The Wildlife Society—Western Section named Fresno Chaffee Zoo their “Conservationist of the Year,” in large part because of its work to recover Blunt-nosed Leopard Lizards. 

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