Search for Chameleons, Maui

  You never know what might be hiding in your backyard. Here on Maui there have always been tales of people finding Jackson's chameleons in their bushes. The trick is to travel a few thousand feet up Haleakala volcano to Makawao, Pukalani and Kula towns where the temperature is a little cooler and it is a bit wetter, perfect conditions for chameleons.

  There are no native reptiles on Hawaii. These beautiful chameleons were released or escaped from the pet trade. Luckily they have not become invasive like many other introduced species, however they have increased in population and seem to be doing quite well in the higher elevation areas. Heidi and I went on a search the other day at our friend's house in Kula and were shocked to find a dozen different chameleons in her side yard hedge. They were mostly at eye level, and were curled up asleep for the night. We found them easily enough with flashlights since they seem to sleep near the outer edge of the hedge at night.

  We found three adult males, who were bright green with three big horns each. We also found 9 juveniles, a mixture of both males and females. However we didn't see any adult females. Whether we are finding these beautiful creatures in their native habitat in Africa, or halfway around the world here in tropical Hawaii, they will always remind me of the cutest chameleon who was our pet on Oahu, Nola.