Why Lazarus lizards are turning up in more Cincinnati neighborhoods
UC expert explains success of invasive reptile from Europe
Local 12 turned to a biologist at the University of Cincinnati to explain why an invasive reptile from Europe is showing up in more neighborhoods in Southwest Ohio this year.
Allison Rickfelder, an assistant academic director in UC's College of Arts and Sciences, will begin her new role as an assistant professor at UC Blue Ash this summer. She studied wall lizards as a doctoral student and gave a presentation on Cincinnati's celebrity reptiles at Alms Park in May.
UC Blue Ash Assistant Professor Allison Rickfelder talks to Local 12 about wall lizards in Cincinnati. Photo/Local 12
Rickfelder said wall lizards were introduced to Cincinnati in the 1950s when a little boy named George Rau released some of the lizards into his yard that he caught during a family vacation at Lake Garda, Italy. Rau belonged to the family that owned the Lazarus department store chain in Cincinnati, which gave the lizards their local name, Lazarus lizard.
“Ever since then, they have lived here and proliferated, and they're everywhere,“ Rickfelder told Local 12.
Local 12 spoke to a resident of Sharonville who noticed that wall lizards suddenly appeared in his neighborhood this spring.
Rickfelder said there are different ways the reptiles can expand their range. Some people introduce them to new neighborhoods on purpose. And sometimes the lizards lay eggs in landscaping material that gets moved.
As their name suggests, Rickfelder said, wall lizards like to live around cracks and crevices in walls where they sun themselves. Researchers haven't determined if the lizards are having a deleterious effect on Cincinnati wildlife, she said. But Rickfelder said they're harmless to people.
Featured image at top: Local 12 says Lazarus lizards are popping up in new neighborhoods of Cincinnati this spring. Photo/Mauribo/iStockPhoto
Related Stories
Certain weather patterns can trigger migraines
June 30, 2026
Certain weather patterns really do trigger migraine headaches — and the incidence is more common in the Midwest. As WGN 9 in Chicago recently reported, researchers at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine have identified two specific weather patterns associated with an increased risk of headaches.
Yahoo! News promotes UC botanist's solution for honeysuckle
February 10, 2026
Yahoo! News shared University of Cincinnati botanist Denis Conover's method for eliminating honeysuckle without using chemicals.
Are community colleges still a pathway to a four-year degree?
September 5, 2024
WVXU’s Cincinnati Edition discusses community colleges being a pathway to a four-year degree. Jack Miner, vice provost for enrollment management at the University of Cincinnati, joined a panel of education experts to tackle the subject.