Hunting Chameleons
by Jack Ashton
June 26, 2005

I have seen many unique animals in Madagascar. Lemurs were first on my list to find and today I have a close encounter (2-4 ft) with Brown Lemurs. Sifakas can be found easily in parts of the canopy and a tiny sportive lemur sleeps (or tries to) in a tree along one of the trap routes. Finally iguanas, snakes, and geckos live with us in camp, so have been easy to see, but chameleons have been the hardest to find.

To see a chameleon takes three things: great eyes, knowledge of where to look, and luck. I have none of these and have had a difficult time finding chameleons. I really want one good photo of a chameleon.

So for this goal, I (along with Kirk and Andy) hired a guide to take us out and show us wildlife. I learned a lot about the wildlife and saw bunches (well some) lemurs bit there seemed to be no chameleons. Finally, at almost the end of our tour, our guide spots a chameleon. (We spot it only after it is repeatedly pointed out to us.) Success! A good chameleon picture! HURRAH! Now back to the real work.