The common impression about the police is that policemen are always busy taking care of things far more important than the concerns of the public. For example, if someone goes to the police station to report a car theft, he is sure to be asked if any members of the family were inside the car at the time of the theft. If the answer is no, then the man will be told he was much luckier than many others whose cars were brazenly stolen with their occupants still inside.

However, this picture of efficiency was recently altered when a report was published saying the police had acted with great speed because of a complaint filed by one Saudi against another.

The man who filed the complaint alleged that the other man had terrorized him by brandishing a large lizard at him. The policeman dutifully recorded the complaint and the alleged lizard brandisher was locked up pending trial.

The newspaper report, however, did not specify if the officer wrote in his report that the lizard was considered a terrorist weapon — nor indeed what became of the creature.

This small, docile and patient animal, it seems, has now become a dangerous weapon used for self-defense.

In earlier days, naughty children discovered the lizard’s effectiveness as a weapon and used it to frighten poor foreigners who had no idea what such a creature might be capable of doing.

A lizard is surely far more effective than a cattle prod or a mace.

Had this weapon been discovered in other countries, women would have rushed to buy it in to defend themselves against danger — especially muggers, pickpockets and cutpurses.

Lizards require no loading, have no side effects and can easily be accommodated in a purse. Our problem is that we look with contempt at many of the indigenous inhabitants of our environment.

If a mother saw a lizard a kilometer away from where her child was, she would panic, thinking a crocodile was about to attack the child.

The same mother would never dream of objecting to her child’s being glued to the TV, watching the spoiled son of an American family playing with his favorite rat or raccoon which shares his room.

It is unfortunate that although our lizard has been designated an endangered species thus deserves our protection, people continue to ignore what is intended to protect local wildlife.

Arab News From the Local Press 31 May 2003