Panther chameleon Facts

About the panther chameleon

Wild panther chameleons live in tropical forest in eastern and northern Madagascar, and people have also brought them to Réunion, Mauritius and Florida. Adults measure about 40 to 51 cm (16 to 20 inches), and males are clearly bigger and heavier than females. Its five toes on each foot are joined into bundles of two and three, which works like a pincer on thin branches, and every toe ends in a sharp claw.

Color depends on where a chameleon comes from, so keepers sort them into "locales" named after places. Males from Nosy Be, Ankify and Ambanja tend to be blue, while those from Ambilobe, Antsiranana and Sambava run red, green or orange. Maroantsetra and Tamatave mostly produce red animals. Females stay tan or brown with touches of pink, peach or orange wherever they live.

Did you know?

• French naturalist Georges Cuvier first described the species in 1829.
• The genus name Furcifer comes from a Latin root meaning forked, a nod to the shape of its feet.
• The word chameleon traces back to a Greek word meaning ground lion.