Jurassic Park: First Iteration: Puntarenas Summary & Analysis

In Puntarenas, the local doctor assures Mike and Ellen Bowman that Tina will survive the attack, despite the alarming swelling and labored breathing she suffered on their drive back into civilization. They found her covered in saliva and dozens of tiny animal bites. To identify the animal that attacked her—and of which Tina has drawn a picture—the doctor has collected samples of its saliva and asked a local biologist, Dr. Marty Guitierrez to consult.

After confirming the family’s description of the animal—a green and brown lizard, about a foot long, walking on its hind legs—Dr. Guitierrez assures them that Tina encountered a non-poisonous, striped basilisk lizard. Lizard bites are common—recently, a lizard bit an infant in her crib about 60 miles away. He glances at Tina’s picture, which confirms his suspicion, even though he notes that Tina has incorrectly given it a long neck and three toes instead of five. Mike and Ellen trust their daughter’s drawing as accurate, since Tina is an observant child. Still, everyone else trusts Guitierrez’s identification enough to stop trying to analyze the saliva, although the hospital forwards a sample to the nearest university.

In the morning, when the doctor discharges Tina, she notices that he changed his shirt—but not his tie—after his overnight shift. This confirms her observant nature, so the doctor asks her again how many toes the lizard has. She insists on three—not only because she saw them on the animal but because they matched the tracks in the sand. The doctor reports this conversation to Dr. Guitierrez, who admits that he’s no longer so sure that she encountered a basilisk lizard and asks to be notified of any other lizard bites.