Chameleons Bite
by Erika Strand
June 26, 2005

The first day of Earthwatch team one, there were three things everyone was dying to see: a fossa (of course), lemurs, and chameleons. When I saw one crossing the savannah trail I decided to bring it back to the main trail, where most of the volunteers were finishing up the morning trap check. As I grabbed the chameleon, finger and thumb on either side of his neck, I realized he wasn’t going to go easily. He fiercely wriggled, mouth snapping back and forth violently enough that I began to explore other transportation options. Most reptiles relax significantly when their eyes are covered. Since they are diurnal, I assumed the same would be true of chameleons. I glanced around in search of something to wrap him in. Like an idiot I thought my shirt would be ideal. Still wearing it, I folded the bottom of my shirttail up over my front, placing the thrashing chameleon about 3 inches above my navel. The result was a reddened, inch-long bruise surrounding a cut from a bite THROUGH my shirt, as well as a series of “chameleon hicky” jokes.