Why Do Lizards Lose Their Tails and Regrow New Ones?

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Many species of lizard lose their tails when they are being chased. When a predator (PREH-duh-tor)—an animal that wants to eat them, like a bird or cat—grabs for the tail, it falls off, and the lizard can run away. How does it happen? Scientists looking at geckos (a type of lizard) under a microscope have found out that some parts of the tail are weaker than other parts.

It’s no accident. The sections of a lizard’s tail will hold together until the lizard is in danger. Scientists think that’s when special cells inside the tail make chemicals that attack the weak points. Then—surprise!—the tail breaks off. It will also keep wiggling for a while to distract the predator while the lizard speeds off. Pretty awesome! That’s not the end of the story, either. Most lizard species can also grow a new tail.

Lizard tails have a lot of jobs to do. Lizards move their tails around to “talk” to each other. It’s a kind of secret lizard language. The tail also helps lizards keep their balance when they’re scrambling up a tree or jumping from rock to rock. So even though losing the tail is a useful trick, growing it back is pretty important, too. Sometimes lizards can get carried away, though: one busy lizard from Argentina grew six new tails at once!

Watch a gecko regrow its tail in this video!