Zebra tails in action.

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More Show Than Blows
In May, 2009 I happened to notice on three our four occasions the activity of two male zebratail lizards as they confronted one another in an effort to show male dominance.

The first time I spotted two males they were very aggressive toward one another. In fact they would lock on to one another and actually throw each other a distance of more than four feet. It was fascinating to watch and when it was all over, each went its separate way.

The second time I spotted two males interacting, there was more of a ritual of leg lifting. They'd face each other and lift their hind legs as they slowly circled one another. It was more of a I'm bigger and stronger than you. In the end, the larger of the two males ran away. Below are a few photographs showing some of the events of two of the encounters.

The face off. Kind of sizing one another.
The fight. They'd really go at it with lots of twisting and biting.
The zebratail lizards would generate so much force they actually flew through the air when they let go of each other.

When a zebratail lizard showed bright color, you would know there was another male in the area and there would be conflict between the two.
The slow leg lift. It was almost like a dance as they circled one another lifting their hind legs and trying to make themselves look bigger.
Looking to see who could strut their stuff the best.
The attack. These two lizards did more leg lifting than actual physical contact and they never flung one another.
More posturing with the help of a piece of flagstone.
Now they had the platform of the flagstone stepping stone. It was time to really show their stuff.
Hind leg up, belly down trying to look like a fierce competitor.
Sometimes the best thing to do is to lift your tail and hightail it out of the other lizard's territory. Surprisingly the smaller of the two zebratail lizards won the competition.
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