Extremely rare Guatemalan bearded lizards hatch at Zoo Atlanta

Zoo Atlanta has two new additions, and they are members of one of the rarest reptile species on Earth.

The zoo announced that two Guatemalan beaded lizards hatched on May 14 and 17 and are reportedly "healthy and feisty."

The Guatemalan beaded lizard is only found in the wild in the country's Motagua Valley. It's estimated that there may be only 500 to 600 members of the critically endangered venomous lizard species in the wild, and the zoo says they have faced habitat loss and illegal trade.

Zoo Atlanta is one of seven zoos in the U.S. to house the species. In over 25 years, 46 of the lizards have hatched at the zoo, which has worked with the Heloderma Natural Reserve of Guatemala to protect the species.

"These hatchlings give us great cause to celebrate here at the Zoo and with our partners in Guatemala dedicated to Guatemalan beaded lizard conservation," said Gina Ferrie, PhD, the zoo's vice president of collections and conservation. "Not only is this species very challenging to reproduce in zoological care, but these are also animals about which we still have so much to learn."

Zoo officials say the lizards have a unique hormone that helps it stable its blood sugar levels. That hormone has been synthesized and is now used in GLP-1 drugs to treat human diabetes and for weight loss.

The hatchlings are now being housed behind-the-scenes in the zoo's Conservation Breeding Center, being watched over by its Herpetology team.