Inspired by the wildlife of the Algarve, the one I grew up in, this little creature used to be commonly found, now becoming an ever rarer find, their habitat disturbed,troubled by roads and development.

Our beloved Algarvian chameleon (Chamaeleo chamaeleon), also known as the common chameleon, is actually not all that common, and is not found in the rest of Portugal, and even here in the Algarve they mainly keep to the east - starting around Quarteira until Vila Real de Santo António (the Ria Formosa being their most abundant stomping ground). It’s not clear how they got here in the first place, but some scientists believe they were brought here on fishing ships from North Africa as a lucky charm, or perhaps they employed these little apex predators and their quick sticky tongues as a solution to the insect problem on board. This being said, genetic studies don’t exclude the possibility of them being here for the last 200 thousand years, making these reptiles a very old inhabitant indeed.