en

Feral Chameleons Chamaeleonidae 

Chameleons transferred, escaped, drifted or introduced to places, where they are not indigenous, building reproducing populations, sometimes considered invasive

Chamaeleo calyptratus, Zubri, Czechia
Chamaeleo calyptratus, Zubri, Czechia
Trioceros jacksonii, California, USA
Trioceros jacksonii, California, USA

Huge wealth of knowledge, on taxonomy, life history, distribution, biotopes, behavior, pictures, conservation etc. on following sites:

Chameleons inhabit naturally-autochtoneously three continents:

Africa incl. Madagascar and off-shore Islands (majority of species) 

Asia (from ear East to India and Sri Lanka) and

Europe (here only some eastern Mediterranean islands)...

Thanks to humans, the have been introduced to a series of countries, sometimes intentionally (for fun, for wild harvesting), sometimes as an incident (escapees, abandoned specimens after hurricanes or unwanted pets...) and in some territories, they were capable of building a more or less stable and reproducing populations, sometimes "thriving" and even expanding to other territories, and/or considered "invasive species", sometimes not doing especially well...


Finds of live or dead animals have been reported:

CZECHIA: C. calyptratus, T. hoehnelii;

FRG: F. pardalis;

SWITZERLAND: C. chamaeleon, C. arabicus;

GREAT BRITAIN: C. calyptratus misidentified as F. pardalis; Scotland escapee of C. calyptratus, Wales escapee F. pardalis

SPAIN (Mallorca): C. calyptratus;

INDONESIA (Bali): C. oshaughnessyi, C. brevicorne

USA (California): F. pardalis; C. calyptratus; (Florida): F. oustaleti & pardalis; T. jacksonii & melleri; C. calyptratus


List of the known feral populations of chameleons:


Chamaeleo calyptratus:

  • CALIFORNIA, USA (San Diego area, Hook's Park and Windy Hill Preserve)

  • CANARY ISLANDS, SPAIN

  • FLORIDA, USA (From  Florida Keys: Big Pine Key, over Key largo to Florida mainland: Mainly Everglades, Around Miami and Fort Myers to Tampa in NW and Gainesville in the Central N of Florida)

  • HAWAII, USA (reported as eradicated already but still present at least on Maui)

  • MEXICO (Tepoztlán, Guadalajara)

  • TAIWAN (SW of Taiwan)

Furcifer pardalis:

  • ANJOUAN (E coast)

  • FLORIDA, USA (Mainly around Miami and Fort Myers)

  • ILE DE RÉUNION, FRANCE (all around the island)

  • MAURITIUS (many populations around the island)

Furcifer polleni:

  • ANJOUAN

Trioceros hoehnelii altaeelgonis:

  • MABIRA FOREST, UGANDA (introduc3d breeding population)

Trioceros jacksonii:

  • FLORIDA, USA

  • CALIFORNIA, USA

  • LOUSIANA, USA

  • HAWAII, USA

Trioceros melleri:

  • FLORIDA, USA

Chamaeleo africanus:

  • PELOPONNESE, GREECE


Kinyongia multituberculata

  • NAIROBI, KENYA

Kinyongia tavetana

  • NAIROBI, KENYA

Bradypodion ventrale

  • W CAPE, RSA

  • BLOEMFONTAIN, RSA

  • WELKOM, RSA

  • JOHANNESBURG, RSA

  • STANDERTON, RSA

  • SECUNDA, RSA

Furcifer oustaleti:

  • FLORIDA, USA

  • KENYA (extinct)

Chamaeleo chamaeleon:

  • MEDITERRANEAN COAST, SPAIN

  • MEDITERRANEAN COAST, PORTUGAL

  • MALTA, GOZO

  • CRETE, GREECE (unconfirmed)

  • CANARY ISLANDS, Spain (unconfirmed)

  • SICILY, ITALY (unconfirmed)

  • APULIA, ITALY

  • CALABRIA, ITALY

My projects:   ARCHAIUS   │   CHAMELEONS.INFO