A little Dwarf Chameleon!
We came down to check on the condition of the lake and something totally unexpected happened. As we walked along on our normal trail, I had my eyes all over as usual, as it is a normal habit to scrutinize both the big views and the close-up sights.
I look at both the sky and the land and often I find rare things that one does not see every day. Today was such a day.
Keep your eyes on the clump of reeds at the right next to the footpath.
See what I mean? There it was with the blue sky as a backdrop.
It was not a normal chameleon, as this adult is a Dwarf Chameleon. Dwarf means very small.
The Cape dwarf chameleon (Bradypodion pumilum) is a chameleon native to the South African province of the Western Cape, where it is restricted to the region around Cape Town.
As with most chameleons, its tongue is twice the length of its body and it can be shot out of its mouth using a special muscle in the jaw. This gives the chameleon the ability to catch insects some distance away.
You can see that it looked down at me, and it curled the end of its tail around the reed stem, ready to move.
But not to be, as I gently took it down for you to see its size.
Yes, they try to bite, but have very small teeth and so it's only a light pinch.
Desperately it turned on my hand, longing for its home in the reeds.
So, I gently put it back while it was watching me to say thank you :)
An expert on camouflage and you can see in the picture below how it blends in with the reeds.
Didn't see it? Look again carefully at the center of the picture.
And that was it! I am glad that I could show it to you, and we were delighted to find one, as they are marked as "Near Threatened" animals, due to poaching, and for other reasons.
The dwarf chameleons give live birth and the babies are only 2cm long. Tiny little things that have to stay hidden to prevent predators from taking them. Once they are grown, they also become masters of camouflage and a trick that the chameleons have, is to sway side to side in tandem with the leaves that surround them, which makes it even more difficult to see them.
Just another day in the life of a dwarf chameleon.
I hope you enjoyed the story and the pictures.
Photos by Zac Smith-All Rights Reserved.
Camera: Canon PowershotSX70HS Bridge camera.
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