VAIL, Ariz. — A couple in southern Arizona got quite the surprise when they found a Gila monster paddling around in their ...

Pet Gila monster bites man, who dies in what experts call a "rare event" The Jefferson County coroner has confirmed that a 34-year-old Colorado man died this month, days after being bitten by one ...

A Gila monster that bit its owner in Lakewood on Feb. 12, leading to the man's death, was returned to Colorado this week and sent to a lab in Greeley on Thursday for testing on the reptile's venom.

The report lists the cause of death for the 34-year-old man as complications of Gila monster envenomation – essentially an injury, in this case, a bite, by a venomous animal of some kind.

FILE – A Gila monster is displayed at the Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle, Dec. 14, 2018. A 34-year-old Colorado man has died on Friday, Feb. 16, 2024, after being bitten by his pet gila monster in ...

The Gila monster, now recognized as part of the Sonoran desert’s natural heritage, is symbolic of the Southwest’s native wildlife. In 1950 Arizona became the first state to pass a law to ...

But that's science for you. Eng set about studying the Gila monster's venom and discovered a compound that had never been identified, one he dubbed exendin-4.

The report lists the cause of death for the 34-year-old man as complications of Gila monster envenomation – essentially an injury, in this case, a bite, by a venomous animal of some kind.

The Gila monster’s primary food consists of rodents, birds, bird eggs and other lizards. The tongue is forked, like a snake's. Bony plates beneath the skin protect the head and body.