Australia battles to save last 11 wild 'earless dragons'

This picture taken on March 25, 2024 shows a grassland earless dragon lizard at the Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve located on the outskirts of the Australian capital city of Canberra. Australia's grassland earless dragon is no bigger than a pinkie as it emerges from its shell, but the little lizard faces an enormous challenge in the years ahead: to avoid extinction. — Photos: AFP

Australia's grassland earless dragon is no bigger than a pinkie when it emerges from its shell, but the little lizard faces an enormous challenge in the years ahead: avoiding extinction.

As recently as 2019, scientists in Canberra counted hundreds of grassland earless dragons in the wild. This year, they found 11.