Trioceros ellioti Montane Side-striped Chameleon
Also known as:
Elliott’s Chameleon
This species was formerly placed in genus Chamaeleo.
Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park, UgandaJuly 2, 2000
Montane Side-striped Chameleon (Trioceros ellioti) Montane Side-striped Chameleon (Trioceros ellioti)
On our way back down the mountain after a gorilla-watching trek, I was delighted to discover a small chameleon in a passion flower plant in the cultivated grounds adjacent to the national park. Unfortunately, the combination of wind, bad lighting, and handheld camera did not produce a web-worthy photograph. Shortly thereafter, while the other gorilla fans lay around on the ground waiting for our jeeps to pick us up, I searched the nearby bushes and trees for additional chameleonic activity. I told a curious young man who was walking by what I was doing, and he pointed out some likely bushes and helped me look for awhile, but unsuccessfully. However, a short while later he came back triumphantly with this beautiful specimen that he had found nearby.

This chameleon and the first one I found both had the black gular (neck) folds distinctive of this species, so they were easy to identify. The second picture clearly shows a chameleon's amazing ability to look a different way with each eye.

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