{"id":37448,"date":"2026-01-23T14:17:47","date_gmt":"2026-01-23T14:17:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.monkeypark.com\/?p=37448"},"modified":"2026-03-25T15:25:02","modified_gmt":"2026-03-25T15:25:02","slug":"desmontando-mitos-sobre-nuestros-reptiles","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.monkeypark.com\/en\/desmontando-mitos-sobre-nuestros-reptiles\/","title":{"rendered":"Debunking myths about our reptiles"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Scale Squadron<\/b><\/h2>\n

Reptiles are often the most misunderstood of the animal kingdom. Surrounded by urban legends and inherited fears, the reality of these animals is much more fascinating (and less dangerous) than we have been told. Today we shine the spotlight on three of our star residents.<\/p>\n

1. The Boa: An animal that \u00abmeasures\u00bb you to eat you?<\/b><\/h3>\n
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    The Myth:<\/b> You've probably heard that boas stretch out next to people to see if they can fit in their stomachs.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n

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    Reality:<\/b> This is totally false! Snakes have no such planning ability, nor do they \u00absize up\u00bb their prey. A boa uses its tongue to \u00absmell\u00bb the environment and decides if something is food by its thermal and chemical signature. If it stretches, it is simply to move or thermoregulate. They are calm animals that prefer to avoid conflict.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    2. The Iguana: The slow, vegetarian \u00abdinosaur\u00bb?<\/b><\/h3>\n
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      The Myth:<\/b> Many people think they are slow animals that just stand still in the sun like statues.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n

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      Reality:<\/b> Although they love to bask in the sun for energy (they are ectotherms), iguanas are complete athletes. They can run at great speed, are excellent swimmers and can fall from heights of more than 10 metres without injury. In addition, they have a \u00abthird eye\u00bb on the top of their head (parietal eye) that detects shadows of aerial predators. No slowpokes!<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

      3. The Cuban Crocodile: Just a mouth with teeth?<\/b><\/h3>\n
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        The Myth:<\/b> Crocodiles are thought to be \u00abliving fossils\u00bb with a primitive brain that only bites.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n

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        Reality:<\/b> The Cuban crocodile is one of the most intelligent and aggressive reptiles... in the way they hunt! They are famous for their ability to make great leaps out of the water and, unlike their cousins, they are very adept at walking on land. They are social animals with complex behaviour and an amazing memory.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

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        Why are they important?<\/b><\/h3>\n

        Reptiles are natural pest controllers par excellence. Without them, rodent and insect populations would get out of control, affecting the entire ecosystem (including us).<\/p>\n

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        Visiting tip:<\/b> When you see our boa or crocodiles standing very still, it's not that they are \u00abbored\u00bb. They are saving energy with an efficiency that any athlete would envy - patience is their superpower!<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

        There are many myths about reptiles, in this post we debunk some of the most popular ones about some of our reptiles.<\/p>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":164,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[30,31,27],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-37448","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-biodiversidad","category-educacin","category-monkey-park"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.monkeypark.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37448","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.monkeypark.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.monkeypark.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.monkeypark.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.monkeypark.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=37448"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.monkeypark.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37448\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":37451,"href":"https:\/\/www.monkeypark.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37448\/revisions\/37451"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.monkeypark.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/164"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.monkeypark.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=37448"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.monkeypark.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=37448"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.monkeypark.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=37448"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}