Photo by Hans Stieglitz (Wikimedia)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nAs a result of living in a completely different habitat than other Chameleons the Namaqua has evolved a few different adaptations.\u00a0 For starters these guys are actually able to spread their toes apart. I know this may not seem like a big deal to us but most other Chameleons have their five toes fused into a set of three and set of two.\u00a0 Naturally, this helps our forested friends grip branches and do other things that tree dwelling animals like to do (such as throwing fruit at the people down below……..OK, so maybe I am thinking about monkey’s again).\u00a0 Obviously a Chameleon that lives in the desert doesn’t need to worry about gripping branches.\u00a0 As a result, their toes can spread apart which gives them the ability to run along the flat open ground.<\/p>\n
This leads us into the next adaptation.\u00a0 Generally, we think of Chameleon’s of being a slow, care-free animal species.\u00a0 Not the case with the Namaqua….well, they may be care-free, I am not sure as I have never met one.\u00a0 This desert Chameleon needs to be able to run at high speeds to catch their fast moving prey (usually beetles).\u00a0 Let’s face it, food is scarce in the desert so you don’t want to miss out on dinner because you are too slow and lazy.<\/p>\n
One last thing before we end today’s fact.\u00a0 The most famous trait about the Chameleon is their ability to change colour.\u00a0 Well, the Namaqua Chameleon is able to complete this formidable task as well.\u00a0 They don’t just using their colour changing super powers for threat displays, courtship and camouflage like their boring, tree dwelling cousins.\u00a0 Nope, they use this amazing gift to help regulate their temperature.\u00a0 They have the ability to turn a darker colour to absorb the sun and heat up or turn a lighter colour to reflect those powerful rays and cool down.\u00a0 This has to give them an advantage over the other animals in the desert.<\/p>\n
So this post seemed to turn into another longer post.\u00a0 I guess I am just in a talkative (writeative?) mood this week.\u00a0 I hope you enjoyed our trip to the Namib Desert.\u00a0 Time to get the sand out of your shorts and relax for the rest of the day.\u00a0 See you tomorrow!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Since yesterday’s topic was a little more serious, and should have been since White Nose Syndrome is a serious topic, I figured we could all use a light-hearted post today.\u00a0 Normally, I would go find a cute or funny monkey to write about since everybody likes monkey’s.\u00a0 But, I wanted to be different today so I went to the deserts of Namibia to find the Namaqua Chameleon.\u00a0\u00a0 Come on, look at the pictures of this Chameleon and tell me that they are not the perfect animal for a nice, light-hearted post? Perhaps I don’t know as much about Chameleons as <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3976,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[4024,52],"tags":[348,161,1657,1655,1656,4025,4114],"yoast_head":"\n
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