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SO A LOT OF PEOPLE EXCITED ABOUT IT. SO IT IS THAT TIME OF YEAR AGAIN WHEN WIZARDS MAY BE POPPING OUT ON YOUR PORCH. THE LAZARUS LIZARDS ARE NOT NATIVE TO CINCINNATI. IN FACT, THEY WERE SMUGGLED HERE FROM ITALY BY A YOUNG BOY. I REMEMBER SEEING THIS SOCIAL THIS STORY ON SOCIAL MEDIA, ACTUALLY. WLWT NEWS FIVE’S RACHEL WHELAN LEARNED HOW THE REPTILES HAVE MADE HOME IN THE MIDWEST, AND THE IMPORTANT RESEARCH THAT’S BEING DONE ON THEM. YOU MIGHT NOT THINK MILAN, ITALY AND CINCINNATI, OHIO HAVE A LOT IN COMMON, BUT TO A LIZARD, IT’S ALL THE SAME. THANKS TO OUR CLIMATE, OLD BUILDINGS AND STONE FEATURES LIKE THIS IN PB2 PUT 60 MICROLITERS ON. MY MOM NOW LIKES TO TEASE ME THAT I DO THE SAME THING FOR MY JOB, NOW THAT I DID WHEN I WAS NINE YEARS OLD. LIKE AN ADVENTURE. ERIC GANGLOFF AND HIS STUDENTS FROM OHIO WESLEYAN UNIVERSITY EXPLORE OUR CINCINNATI PARKS. FOR ONE THING, TO CATCH LIZARDS. GOT IT. I THINK THEY’RE THE CUTEST THINGS EVER. I HAVE A TATTOO OF THEM. THE BONES OF THE LIZARD TO AVOID HURTING THESE SCALY CREATURES, THEY USE FISHING POLES WITH A LOOP ON THE END, AND THESE SPECIAL SACKS. THE SACKS KIND OF LOOK LIKE SOCKS. THEY ARE WOMEN’S STOCKINGS. YES. SIZE 10 TO 12. THEY’RE BREATHABLE. THEY’RE FLEXIBLE, THEY’RE WASHABLE. IT’S. IT’S PRETTY FUNNY WHEN I GO INTO, LIKE, TARGET OR WALMART AND FILL UP A SHOPPING CART WITH WOMEN’S STOCKINGS AND CASH OUT. I ALMOST HAD ONE. WHAT’S EVEN CRAZIER IS THE ORIGIN STORY OF THESE LIZARDS. ERIC SAYS. IN THE 1950S, THE LAZARUS FAMILY WHO FOUNDED MACY’S TOOK A VACATION NEAR MILAN, ITALY, AND THEIR YOUNG SON LOVED THESE LIZARDS SO MUCH THAT HE PUT ABOUT TEN OF THEM OR SO IN A SOCK AND SMUGGLED THEM ON THE AIRPLANE BACK HERE AND RELEASED THEM IN HIS BACKYARD IN CINCINNATI. AND SINCE THEN, THAT ORIGINAL TEN HAS JUST ABSOLUTELY EXPLODED. AND SHE IS NOT MARKED BEFORE. SHE’S NOT ONE WE’VE CAUGHT BEFORE, ERIC SAYS. THEY’RE NOW MAYBE MILLIONS OF THESE APPROPRIATELY NAMED LAZARUS LIZARDS ALL OVER GREATER CINCINNATI, AND HIS TEAM IS TRYING TO FIGURE OUT IF THAT’S A BAD THING. IF I HAD TO ANSWER THE QUESTION SHORTLY, ARE THEY INVASIVE? I WOULD SAY NOT YET, BUT THERE’S A GOOD CHANCE THAT THEY COULD CAUSE PROBLEMS AS THEY CONTINUE TO SPREAD. STUDYING THE BLOOD OF A LIZARD MIGHT NOT SEEM THAT SIGNIFICANT, BUT RESEARCHERS HAVE ALREADY MADE SOME BIG DISCOVERIES. FOR INSTANCE, LIZARD BLOOD CAN KILL THE BACTERIA THAT AFFECTS LYME DISEASE. THEY’RE ALSO LEARNING. THESE REPTILES HAVE A HUGE TOLERANCE FOR LEAD. WE OFTEN DON’T KNOW THESE THINGS WHEN WE START DOING RESEARCH ON THESE ORGANISMS, BUT WHEN WE LEARN THESE THINGS, THEY CAN HAVE THESE HUGE IMPLICATIONS, WHICH I THINK ARE VERY BROAD AND CAN AFFECT A LOT OF PEOPLE IN EXCITING WAYS. AND THAT’S IT’S A GOOD ARGUMENT FOR BASIC SCIENCE, FOR UNDERSTANDING HOW THE WORLD WORKS AROUND US, BECAUSE YOU NEVER KNOW WHAT YOU’RE GOING TO FIND. OH, THERE’S ANOTHER ONE FINDING SCIENTIFIC BREAKTHROUGHS WHILE FEELING LIKE A KID PLAYING IN THE BACKYARD AGAIN. GOT IT, GOT IT. HECK YEAH. LET’S GO. I’M REPORTING IN AULT PARK RACHEL WHELAN WLWT NEWS FIVE. LEARNING AND HAVING A GOOD TIME WHILE DOING IT. WHILE ERIC SAYS RESEARCHERS HAVE NOT FOUND STRONG EVIDENCE THAT THE LIZARDS ARE HURTING ECOSYSTEMS HERE IN CINCINNATI, HOWEVER, THEY SEEM TO BE SPREADING TO OTHER PLACES IN OHIO LIKE