Amazing Anole Fight Caught on Film

Posted on September 12, 2011 by Rich Glor

Fights between male anoles in nature can get pretty serious.  A few dramatic anole fight videos have already been posted on-line, including some mentioned previously on anole annals ([1], [2]).  Recently, I posted photos from a fight we saw this summer on a rock along the Rio Bani between two males of A. d. ravitergum.  This was the most dramatic anole fight I’ve ever seen, with the males tumbling head over heels down a boulder while locked in combat.  The fight ended with one male skulking off and the other proudly displaying from atop the boulder.  Now, Shea Lambert has posted his video of the fight on YouTube (Shea aptly added background music from the classic video game Mortal Kombat).  This video was taken with a point and shoot digital camera, so the quality isn’t the greatest, but Shea did a great job capturing all of the acrobatics!  To quote Shea immediately after the fight: “That dark anole is a straight-up ninja.”

About Rich Glor

Assistant Professor of Biology at the University of Rochester and longtime anole enthusiast.
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6 Responses to Amazing Anole Fight Caught on Film

  1. Shea says:
    September 13, 2011 at 7:43 am

    For anyone interested, here is the full fight (no sound): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m8i21C-kARg

    It’s worth watching the beginning for the furious push-up and dewlapping contest.

  2. Rich Glor says:
    September 13, 2011 at 12:40 pm

    I believe the sound was cut due to foul language from those watching the bout…

  3. Hispanioland says:
    September 13, 2011 at 4:01 pm

    Yes, like those sounds produced in a public cockfight any sunday morning in rural DR…

  4. Rich Glor says:
    September 13, 2011 at 5:53 pm

    Hispanioland has reminded me of something that came up after I posted this video. After you watch the video, youtube recommends some other anole fight videos. Some of these are really dramatic, particularly when they’re dubbed over with the Rocky theme song (e.g., this one). However, after watching a few of these I became concerned that people are actually staging fights between anoles for entertainment, like a cockfight. I’ve convinced myself that all the videos I’ve seen on youtube are actually filmed in nature with intervention, but I wouldn’t put it past folks to get some pleasure out of staging anole bouts…

  5. Pingback: Staged Anole Fights on YouTube? |

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