When you see your naughty Jack Russell Bella with her best little black cat friend Tokyo head to head burrowing in the nettles, oblivious of the stingers, something is being either brave or stupid. In this instance a poor lizard was being hooked out and tossed about.

By the time we noticed, the poor thing had lost the end of its tail. Plucking it up in my gloves away from a very agitated Bella, I was relieved it was still wide eyed, even if breathing heavily. Loosing your tail must be painful.

A quick journey down the other lane to a small brook and a safe spot to recover. If anyone knows what type of lizard this is, please let me know. I have a real soft spot for them and we have many here in our French villages, running up and down the hot stone walls in summer and snoozing in crevices during the winter. But this guy was very pretty. I hope he makes it.

Reading later…see below, they apparently can have a nasty bite. At no time did this guy try and I hope his instincts informed him correctly, I was not going to harm him. Even if I got a bite it would be purely instinct and I am very thick skinned. I regularly plays with the dogs and it involves a lot of hand chewing and nipping.

Update from web…Green Lizard.

Lacerta bilineata reaches an average length (excluding tail) of about 13 centimetres (5.1 in), with a maximum of 40 centimetres (16 in), including tail. The tail may reach up to twice the body length. The average weight is about 35 grams. The body is bright green. The head is bigger in males than in females, and the males often show a blue throat. Juveniles are almost brown, with a yellowish belly and two to four pale, longitudinal lines along the flanks. Sub-adults also have these lines, together with several small brown spots on their backs.

These lizards are territorial animals. They feed on arthropods, mainly large insects. They attain sexual maturity at around two years, when they are about 8 cm long (excluding tail). The males fight each other, especially during the mating period, when they are very aggressive towards rivals. The mating ritual is precise, and starts with a bite to the base of the female’s tail. The females lay 6 to 25 eggs in a humid and warm site, such as in a decomposing log. The average life span of this species is about 15 years. (Wikipedia)