- I'm Coyote Peterson.
- And I'm Pup Peterson.
- And where are we this evening?
- In my grandma's backyard. - In the Sonoran Desert.
and we're headed out
to look for horned lizards.
Hey Pup? I got one.
I see one, hurry!
(fast, upbeat music)
I've been visiting the Sonoran Desert since childhood
and have always been captivated
by its rugged beauty and fascinating animals.
On this adventure, I'm getting the chance to bring
my daughter, Pup Peterson, with me.
This is her first major production trip
and she couldn't be more excited.
For several years now she has been safely
catching frogs, non-venomous snakes,
and even snapping turtles, under my supervision.
Exploring Arizona has been one of her young dreams.
On this trip, she got the chance to get up close
with many different animals.
From scorpions and tarantulas...
You're not nervous? - No.
- [Coyote] That's a pretty big spider, though,
isn't it? - Yeah.
- [Coyote] To giant Colorado River toads.
At seven years old, she is one adventurous
and completely fearless kid.
But nothing was more important to her
than finding the legendary regal horned lizard.
Which, as most of you know, is the reptile
responsible for giving me the nickname Coyote.
Which in turn led her to the nickname Pup.
Now, Pup, there's a great reason
that we're in grandma's backyard tonight.
We know that there are horned lizards out here.
One of the reasons that the horned lizards
live here in her yard is check this out.
Do you know what those are?
- Harvester ants.
- That is absolutely right.
Now these little ants are the favorite food
of the regal horned lizard.
But don't get too close because they have
a nasty little sting.
Now, we know that grandma said
there's horned lizards all over the place
out here, right? - Yeah.
- All we need to do is start searching around the yard
and hopefully we'll come across some.
The temperatures are cooling down
and the horned lizards are gonna come out.
You ready to start our search?
- Yeah. - Alright, high fives?
Boom! Let's go find some horned lizards.
Back yards in the Sonoran Desert
are exactly as you might imagine.
Plenty of sand and rocks with spiky cacti
around every turn.
These biological land mines didn't deter Pup
as she zigzagged around every prickly pear
and even got down on hands and knees
searching for her prized reptile.
- Nothin' yet but I'm not gonna give up.
- [Coyote] Keep lookin'.
My mom is constantly sending me pictures
of the horned lizards that live in her backyard.
There's gotta be 20 or 30 of them back here.
They're just so hard to find.
The regal horned lizard, sometimes also
referred to as a horny toad,
is one of the friendliest and safest animals
you could ever hope to encounter in the desert.
So I had no hesitation when it came
to letting Pup get up close.
- Something green just ran by.
- [Coyote] Before I knew it
Pup had spotted something.
What'd you see? What'd you see?
- I don't know. I saw something running.
- It might've been a horned lizard.
- (Pup gasps) Wait. - [ Coyote] What'd you see?
- [Voiceover] Somethin' right there.
Right here. Something right in here.
- [Coyote] Anything? - [Pup] No.
But I saw fur.
- [Coyote] Turns out.
It was just a mouse.
So, the search continued.
They camouflage unbelievably well.
You almost have to step on them
and get them to move before
you can actually see them.
We were losing light fast with the sun disappearing
behind the mountains when,
finally, I spotted one.
He's sitting there right by the edge of that log
and Pup doesn't know it yet.
Let's see how she reacts when I call out,
"Horned lizard." You ready?
Here we go. Hey, Pup? I got one!
I see one, hurry!
- Really?
- He's right up against this log.
Right there. You see him?
- [Pup] Yeah.
- [Coyote] You think you can catch
that horned lizard? - [Pup] Yeah.
Once you actually spot one
they're rather simple to catch.
Now watch this.
Simple to catch?
Famous last words, dad.
This lizard was on the run
and Pup was right on its tail.
There's a burrow right over here.
I don't want to get him in here.
Be careful on those cactus spines.
Can you see him? - [Pup] Yeah.
- [Coyote] Can you get a handle on him?
Try to grab him.
- [Pup] Got him. - [Coyote] Got him?
- [Pup] Yeah. - [Coyote] Nice!
Good catch!
- [Voiceover] Under a cactus.
- Nice! A little risky but you got him.
High fives!
Nice, alright. Wow! There it is.
That is your first regal horned lizard, isn't it?
Why do love horned lizards so much?
- I just think they're so cute
and they're non-venomous
and they're the safest animal that you can catch.
I came all this way and I finally got one.
- [Coyote] Now, what do you notice
about his camouflage?
- [Pup] It really matches into the sand here.
- [Coyote] Tell me about his tail.
- [Pup] It has a pattern of stripes.
It goes from big stripe
all the way down to small stripe.
- [Coyote] He almost disappears when you
set him down on the ground, doesn't he?
- [Pup] Yeah.
- [Coyote] What does a horned lizard's
camouflage help it hide from?
- Predators. - [Coyote] Right.
Now what would be a predator
that might eat a horned lizard?
- A coyote.
- [Coyote] That's right. Or...
- [Pup] A roadrunner. - [Coyote] Or maybe...
- A mouse.
- (Coyote laughs) No, I don't think a mouse
but a coyote and a roadrunner are
the top two predators of the horned lizards.
Did you know that the only true spikes
on a horned lizard are the crown of spikes
on the back of its head?
You see all these spikes on top of his body
and that run along the side?
- Yeah.
- Those are nothing more than modified scales.
It makes him look spiky
but he's not really that spiky.
What an awesome experience.
Being here today right in grandma's backyard.
But I want to know about the animals
that live in your backyard.
Write to us and tell us what sort of cool
creatures you have right behind your house.
I'm Coyote Peterson,
- And I'm Pup Peterson,
- Be brave, stay wild.
We'll see you on the next adventure.
As parents, we strive to see our children smile
and I think it goes without saying
that we all hope for our children's dreams
to come true.
- I'm Pup Peterson and I love horned lizards.
- [Coyote] Especially if they dream of horned lizards.
On the next backyard adventure,
I visit Arizona's Boyce Thompson Arboretum
with wild man Phil and his even wilder son, Archie.
With flashlights in hand we will head out
to see what crawls, slithers, and flies,
by the darkness of night.
(animal sounds)
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