The brown lizards scampering on New Orleans porches and sunning themselves on sidewalks should be dead by any other standard.

That’s because the Cuban brown anoles live with the highest blood lead levels ever documented in a vertebrate, according to a Tulane University study published this month. Despite lead concentrations that would kill humans and other animals, the reptiles thrive, darting across fences and blending into the city’s leafy yards.

What started out as an effort to assess the impact on animals of high levels of lead in New Orleans took a turn when the scientists discovered just how high the levels are, shocking the researchers so much they repeated the initial test, thinking there might have been a mistake.

“I don't think anyone would have assumed lizards would be r

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