Chameleon ranching is the action of releasing chameleons into an area with the intent of establishing them and later collecting them to sell for a profit. [1] This type of ranching has existed since the 1970s, [2] [3] but has become more widespread around the early 2000s. [4] [5] It is an example of people intentionally releasing a foreign species.
Chameleons have always been a staple of the wildlife trade, with the United States in particular accounting for 69% of chameleon imports from 1977 to 2001. [6] As importing the chameleons from their native countries can be costly, some people have decided to release chameleons into the wild on purpose, intending to let them reproduce and then recapturing them. The first case of this was in 1972, when Jackson's chameleons were released by a petshop owner on Kāneʻohe in Hawaii. [2] By 1981, when Kenya stopped importation of its chameleons, all Jackson's chameleons in the pet trade were then sourced from Hawaii. [3] [7]
As Hawaii started to make it illegal to transport or export chameleons in recent years, chameleon ranching shifted towards the state of Florida. [1] Several populations of chameleons were discovered in the early 2000s and have been proved to be reproducing and spreading to new areas. [4] [5] As Florida's law states that no non-native species can be released into the wild, most chameleons that are found or captured are sold into the pet trade.
Hawaii has one species of chameleon established on it, the Jackson's chameleon, which was introduced when a pet store owner released a shipment of chameleons on Kāneʻohe in 1972. [2] The shipment of chameleons were skinny and dehydrated, and were released into the owner's backyard so that they could revitalize themselves, instead escaping outside his property and into the adjacent wilderness. From here, the chameleons managed to reach Maui by the 1980s, where they thrived in the warm and humid climate similar to their natural habitat of Eastern Africa. [3] While they prefer high elevations at around from 700 to 823 m (2300 to 2700 ft), they can also be found in scrubland and on beaches. [3] [7]
Jackson's chameleons have since managed to colonize Hawaiʻi and Oʻahu, most likely due to humans intentionally spreading them. [2] They are illegal to own or transport in an attempt to keep them from spreading to Kauaʻi or Lana'i.
Florida has several chameleon species that have been found in the wild, although only three are so far confirmed to have established reproducing populations. [8] These three species are veiled chameleons, [4] [9] panther chameleons, [10] and Oustalet's chameleons. [11] [12] [13] Here in Florida, these chameleons can be found in degraded or urban areas with open vegetation that allows the chameleon to get both sunlight and shelter. [4] Most of these populations are found in the southern part of the state where it rarely freezes.
Veiled chameleons were first discovered in 2002 in Fort Myers, Lee County, but has satellite populations in other parts of Lee County along with Collier County. [4] The distance between these populations suggest that they were collected from the Fort Myers location and then released elsewhere, and not from the chameleons spreading themselves. Panther chameleons are known from Broward County, where a population was discovered in Coconut Creek in 2013. [10] Oustalet's giant chameleons were first confirmed to be reproducing in Miami-Dade County in 2010; however, they may have been around since at least 2000, originating from an animal importer who released them into an avocado orchard on their property. [11]
It is relatively unknown what effects these chameleons have on the ecosystem. A study of the diet of introduced Oustalet's chameleons revealed them to prey on snails, moths and their larvae, grasshoppers, and brown anoles (which are another invasive lizard themselves). [12] [14] Due to several reasons such as the fact that many populations encompass private property, the chameleon's camouflage abilities and cryptic nature, along with their exact effects on the environment believed to be mostly harmless, chameleons are not a priority species for wildlife authorities to eradicate. [10] [13] [9]
A small established population of Jackson's chameleons exist in several locations throughout southern California, most notably Morro Bay. The Morro Bay population is rumored to have been started during a Fish and Wildlife raid in 1981 on a person who was suspected of selling prohibited reptiles, unknowingly releasing several chameleons into the wild when they left open a cage that they believed to be empty. [15] [16] [17] The foggy climate of Morro Bay allows the chameleons to get adequate moisture to not dehydrate in the otherwise hot climate. There are also satellite populations in San Luis Obispo County and Orange County. [15]
There may also be populations of veiled chameleons (Contra Costa County and San Diego County) and panther chameleons (San Diego County), although it is unknown if they are ultimately sustainable or if they eventually become extirpated. [18]
Chameleons or chamaeleons are a distinctive and highly specialized clade of Old World lizards with 200 species described as of June 2015. The members of this family are best known for their distinct range of colors, being capable of shifting to different hues and degrees of brightness. The large number of species in the family exhibit considerable variability in their capacity to change color. For some, it is more of a shift of brightness ; for others, a plethora of color-combinations can be seen.
Chamaeleo is a genus of chameleons in the family Chamaeleonidae. Most species of the genus Chamaeleo are found in sub-Saharan Africa, but a few species are also present in northern Africa, southern Europe, and southern Asia east to India and Sri Lanka.
Furcifer is a genus of chameleons whose member species are mostly endemic to Madagascar, but F. cephalolepis and F. polleni are endemic to the Comoros. Additionally, F. pardalis has been introduced to Réunion and Mauritius, while F. oustaleti has been introduced to near Nairobi in Kenya.
The veiled chameleon is a species of chameleon native to the Arabian Peninsula in Yemen and Saudi Arabia. Other common names include cone-head chameleon and Yemen chameleon. They are born pastel green and without their distinctive casques on their head. They grow this as well as become more colorful as they mature. They are known for their variable color changes due to a variety of factors, including to show aggression, social status, reproduction, and stress. Females live around 5 years and males live for around 8 and they breed a few times a year.
Jackson's chameleon, also known as Jackson's horned chameleon, three-horned chameleon or Kikuyu three-horned chameleon, is a species of chameleon native to East Africa, but also introduced to Hawaii, Florida, and California.
The panther chameleon is a species of chameleon found in the eastern and northern parts of Madagascar in a tropical forest biome. Additionally, it has been introduced to Réunion and Mauritius.
The Malagasy giant chameleon or Oustalet's chameleon is a large species of chameleon which is endemic to Madagascar, but also has been introduced near Nairobi in Kenya. It occurs in a wide range of habitats, even among degraded vegetation within villages, but is relatively rare in the interior of primary forest.
Labord's chameleon is a semelparous species of chameleon, a lizard in the family Chamaeleonidae. The species is endemic to Madagascar.
The jeweled chameleon, also commonly known as Campan's chameleon or the Madagascar forest chameleon, is a species of lizard in the family Chamaeleonidae. The species is endemic to the central highlands of Madagascar, where it is threatened by bush fires and habitat loss.
Trioceros melleri, with the common names Meller's chameleon and giant one-horned chameleon, is the largest species of chameleon from the African mainland.
Choleoeimeria is a genus of alveolate parasites that infect the biliary tracts of reptiles. Morphologically they are similar to the Eimeria, to whom they are closely related. The genus was described in 1989 by Paperna and Landsberg.
The Angel's chameleon, initially described as Chamaeleo angeli, is a species of chameleon, a lizard in the family Chamaeleonidae. The species is endemic to Madagascar, and was originally described by Édouard-Raoul Brygoo and Charles Antoine Domergue in 1968.
The canopy chameleon, also known commonly as Wills's chameleon or incorrectly as Will's chameleon, is a species of lizard in the family Chamaeleonidae. The species is endemic to Madagascar. The species was originally described by Albert Günther in 1890.
Furcifer nicosiai is a large species of chameleon, a lizard in the family Chamaeleonidae. The species is endemic to western Madagascar. Described as new to science in 1999, it was ranked as an endangered species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). It has only been found in the Tsingy de Bemaraha National Park at levels of 57 and 571 metres above mean sea level.
Furcifer tuzetae is a species of chameleon that is endemic to Madagascar. It is only known from its type locality, Andrenalamivola near Befandriana Sud. It was described by Édouard-Raoul Brygoo, Robert M. Bourgat and Charles Antoine Domergue in 1972. The International Union for Conservation of Nature have rated this species as "data deficient".
The Petter's chameleon is a species of chameleon, which is endemic to northern Madagascar. Furcifer petteri was initially described as the subspecies Chamaeleo willsii petteri by Édouard-Raoul Brygoo and Charles Domergue in 1966, but later transferred to the genus Furcifer and given full species status by Frank Glaw and Miguel Vences in 1994.
Furcifer verrucosus, also known as the warty chameleon, spiny chameleon or crocodile chameleon, is a species of small reptile endemic to Madagascar. It was first described by Georges Cuvier in 1829.
Madagascar Exotic is a small privately run reserve at Marozevo, on National Road N2, 75 km (47 mi) east of Antananarivo, between the towns of Manjakandriana and Moramanga. It is a popular tourist stop between Antananarivo and Madagascar's Andasibe-Mantadia National Park.
Metarhizium granulomatis is a fungus in the family Clavicipitaceae associated with systemic mycosis in veiled chameleons. The genus Metarhizium is known to infect arthropods, and collectively are referred to green-spored asexual pathogenic fungi. This species grows near the roots of plants and has been reported as an agent of disease in captive veiled chameleons. The etymology of the species epithet, "granulomatis" refers to the ability of the fungus to cause granulomatous disease in susceptible reptiles.