Charles Crump age 13, of Emmett, Idaho, for his question:

What happens when a lizard loses its tail?

"Wow! said the little lizard as the mink bit off his tail, 'That's the second caudal appendage I've lost this season. And it will take me three to five weeks to grow another and look presentable again,

It all happened in a flash. One minute the lizard was soaking up the sunshine to warm his cold blood, He had chosen a flat stone for his sunbath, His legs were outspread and he was holding on with ten little fingers and ten little toes. He had dozed and his eyelids were half shut. He didn't notice that his long tail was hanging over the edge of the stone. And he didn't notice the hungry mink creeping up hoping for dinner,

The mink grabbed at the hanging tail, which was a mistake. For with a flick the little lizard snapped it right off, He scuttled for safety, leaving the mink with much less than he needed for dinner. The lizard had lost his tail but saved his life. And he fully intended to grow a new tail.

The new tail, however, will be different from the one with which he was born. Originally, his tail was supported by a row of backbone vertabrae. His new tail will be supported by a rod of strong, supple cartilage. Originally, the markings on his tail were neat and orderly, They matched the markings on the rest of his body. The scales on his new tail may lack color. The new pattern will be all higgledy piggledy.

But a tail is a tail. And Mr. Lizard will be proud of it. What's more, it may save his life again, For a lizard’s tail snaps very easily, especially when seized by a hungry enemy, And he can regrow = tail any number of times.

Sometimes a strange thing happens. The tail may become fractured but fail to break off entirely. When this happens, a new tail may sprout from the broken spot. The new tail shoves the old one to one side. When this happens we have a lizard with two tails or at any rate with a forked tail. What a proud fellow he must be;

There are about 3,000 different 1izards in the world, All belong to the Sauria family. Yes, their distant ancestors were related to the dinosaurs that once ruled the earth, Today there are lizards almost everywhere. Some live in trees, others in shrubs, Some live in caves and many love the sandy deserts. A few spend most of their time in marshes‑and streams. And every single one of them can grow a new tail ‑ any number of new tails.