You will meet the garrobo on your first walk to the beach and roughly every hour after that for the rest of your life here. Big, grey, prehistoric, and utterly indifferent to you until you get within about two metres, at which point it vanishes at a speed that seems unfair.
Where you’ll see it
Rocks, sea walls, roofs, roadsides, the beach, your garden wall. Anywhere with sun to bask in and a crevice to bolt into. Coco has an enormous population and they are as much part of the town as the dogs.
What to know
Adults are mostly vegetarian and spend the day soaking up heat. The young are greener and eat more insects. They are fast, and not by a little: this species holds the record for the fastest lizard measured, which you will believe the first time one takes off.
They do not chase, they do not bite unprovoked, and they are not a danger to anyone who leaves them alone. Catching one is the mistake. The bite is serious and the spiny tail is used as a whip. Dogs that learn this lesson tend to learn it once.
