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.

A 34-year-old Colorado man died last month after getting bitten by a Gila (pronounced HE-la) monster. Christopher Ward’s death may have been the first from a Gila monster in the US in almost a ...

Pet Gila monster bites man, who dies in what experts call a "rare event" 03:03 The Jefferson County coroner has confirmed that a 34-year-old Colorado man died this month, days after being bitten ...

Gila monster hormones can regulate blood sugar very well . It all started back in the early 1990s, when government researcher Dr. John Eng discovered that Gila monsters have a special hormone in ...

The array of plants and animals on earth today is amazing and intriguing. Animals have been found living in sunless depths of the sea, acquiring energy from volcanic vents on ...

Lizard venom has played a crucial part in helping humans take a bite out of diabetes and obesity. The Gila monster is a large, magnificent and venomous desert-dwelling reptile found throughout the ...

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 ...

But while 34-year-old Christopher Ward's death Friday may have been the first from a Gila monster in the US in almost a century, the creature's bite is well-known to be excruciating — and venomous.

Fitzgerald said, of the thousands of lizard species, the Gila monster is one of only two that are venomous. “These are shy nocturnal animals, you know, that come out at night,” Fitzgerald said.

The Gila monster, which is native to the deserts of North America, can survive on just a few meals a year, thanks to a digestion-slowing hormone in its venom.

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.