– MAY 9 –
INTERNATIONAL CHAMELEON DAY is a new day of commemoration to celebrate and raise awareness about one of the planet’s most unique and engaging reptiles:
CHAMELEONS
Wildlife Madagascar is launching this animal appreciation day to highlight the remarkable diversity of chameleon species and shed light on the challenges they face in the wild. We are excited to honor these unique, extraordinary, and beautiful animals. Chameleons definitely deserve their day in the sun: they aren’t like any other species on Earth, they capture people’s imaginations, and they are in need of protection. We hope International Chameleon Day will encourage more people to appreciate and admire chameleons.
What are the goals of International Chameleon Day?
The inaugural celebration this year, May 9, 2024, aims to establish a dedicated day to celebrate chameleons annually. Along with more than 25 partner organizations, Wildlife Madagascar hopes to inspire collective education, action, and advocacy on behalf of chameleons in order to protect these remarkable reptiles. International Chameleon Day invites people to appreciate the beauty and uniqueness of chameleons while encouraging a sense of responsibility for their conservation and the preservation of their habitats.
Download the Infographic here:
Download images from here
Who can participate?
Anyone! International Chameleon Day provides an opportunity for individuals, conservation organizations, zoos and aquariums, and community groups worldwide to come together, share knowledge, and take action to safeguard the future of chameleons.
Share International Chameleon Day on social media with these hashtags:
#show your colors #internationalchameleonday #chameleonday #chameleondayMay9
download pdf materials below
Download the logo here:
PNG file
Listen to a cool podcast about chameleons! Jack Baker, host of “Pangolin: The Conservation Podcast” has recorded a special episode all about chameleons, with guests Chris Anderson and Fano Ratsoavina, both chameleon experts. Give it a listen at one of these links:
Join host Ellen Weatherford and her special guest, biologist Dr. Chris Anderson, for a podcast episode about the amazing chameleons! They discuss ballistic tongue projection, color changing and how cartoons get it wrong, eyes that move independently of each other, prehensile tails that act like a fifth leg, and so much more.
A Few Fun Facts
- Chameleons have eyes that can move separately from each other. Each eye can look at something different.
- Chameleons don’t really change color to match what they are sitting on, and they cannot change to just any color or pattern. Instead, each chameleon species has certain patterns and colors that it can show on its skin.
- There are more than 200 species of chameleons, and almost half of them live in Madagascar.
- In many chameleons, their fully extended tongue is longer than their body, allowing them to catch prey that is some distance away.
- Chameleon species come in many sizes. The largest, Parson’s chameleon and Oustalet’s chameleon, can both be 2 feet long. The smallest, the nano chameleon, is about the size of a sunflower seed.
