ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. – Researchers are exploring the impacts of exotic chameleons in one Central Florida neighborhood, according to the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Studies (UF/IFAS).
In a release, UF/IFAS Public Relations Manager Lourdes Mederos said that this particular study looked at a suburban neighborhood in Orange County.
“When exotic chameleons creep into a suburban Florida neighborhood, they bring more than their color-changing charm,” she wrote. “They can also spark confusion, curiosity and social chaos.”
More specifically, the study examined panther chameleons, a species of chameleon that is native to Madagascar.
These foreign lizards can command a high price, possibly fetching up to $2,000 on the exotic pet market, Mederos explained.
Per the UF/IFAS, the Florida pet trade is also responsible for these critters appearing more often in the wild. And thanks to the state’s natural climate, escaped panther chameleons are better able to thrive and multiply.
“Panther chameleons are a prime target for ‘ranching’ — the seeding of populations in the wild for collection later," Mederos adds.
Researchers said they discovered a potentially decade-old population of these chameleons in the Orange County neighborhood, leading the team to conduct anonymous surveys with residents about what problems they may be facing.
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But many of these residents responded that they actually liked the chameleons and didn’t mind them, though others discussed issues that extended past just the lizards.
Scientists did not divulge the location of the neighborhood, and it was on purpose.
“Those who had seen people with flashlights — particularly when combined with seeing chameleons — expressed greater concern for personal safety, frustration with nighttime activity and uncertainty about what was really going on," the release reads.
The big problem here isn’t necessarily the chameleons themselves, researchers say. Given that they have a weak bite and aren’t toxic, the chameleons don’t exactly pose much of a direct threat.
Instead, researchers claimed that the major issue lies in the collectors who seek to harvest these wild chameleons, sometimes trespassing on private lands to do so, hence why the neighborhood was never named in the study.
“This demonstrates that invasive species can generate social conflict not through their own ecological impacts, but through the conspicuous and unfamiliar human behaviors they attract,” UF/IFAS researcher Diane Sturgeon stated. “When communities develop distrust toward the activities surrounding a species rather than the species itself, this can result in pushback against management efforts and even protective attitudes toward the invasive species.”
Sturgeon also explained that chameleons in the area were found living on both public and private property.
And given that some residents wanted to protect the chameleons — seeing them as appealing additions to the neighborhood — it may become more difficult for state officials to eradicate the species.
“When stakeholders are not included in planning for an invasive species management action or feel strongly opposed to the decision to manage a species, there is the chance for serious conflict,” Sturgeon concluded. “Many of these residents we spoke with during chameleon-detection surveys expressed an interest in the research and a willingness to help.”
In the meantime, Florida residents can learn more about chameleons living in the state by clicking here.
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