Keurboom Park Association (KPA) is asking for residents’ help in protecting chameleons that have taken refuge among the district park’s trees.
According to Jon Friedman, Wildlife Department supervisor at the Cape of Good Hope SPCA, there are 19 species of chameleon in South Africa, of which around 80% are endemic (in other words, found nowhere else).
“The most common species, the Cape dwarf chameleon, is the one that Capetonians might know from seeing them in the fynbos or their very own gardens,” says Friedman.
He adds that they used to be widely spread across the province, but a decline in their numbers over the years has led to them being listed as “Near Threatened” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
“Their numbers have suffered from habitat loss due to rampant urbanisation and also from a marked increase in invasive predators such as domestic cats and pied crows.
“The widespread use of poisons to control pest species has also had an impact on numbers as a lot of these species are also the chameleon’s preferred prey,” says Friedman.
The KPA was formally founded in 2009 with one of their aims being to provide a safe, clean and natural space to conserve the diversity of plants and wildlife in Keurboom Park. Some of their park projects include acquiring, planting, labelling and nurturing over 250 trees (they still plan on planting a further 100) and allowing a substantial part of the park to return to a natural state.
Responding to a list of questions, the KPA said they had not seen the Cape dwarf chameleon in the park for years.
“We created a ‘wild area’ and one day someone just spotted them. We have no idea how they got back to our park.”
The association surmised that the park’s lush fauna and flora may have had something to do with the chameleons’ return.
“We have many different kinds of trees which attract a host of insects and we do not use any poison on our trees (which most people do in their home gardens) so the chameleons can ingest them without dying from poisons.”
But the park is not without its perils. It has several birds of prey in the area and fiscal shrikes (Lanius collaris), commonly known as a butcher bird, that also eats chameleons.
It seems that Homo sapiens can now also be added to this list of threats.
According to the KPA, people come from far and wide on weekends and during the school holidays to spend time in the park.
“It has probably become known that we have chameleons because people are often seen trying to find them in certain trees.”
Some adults go so far as to pick them up.
“And they are offended when asked not to do so. Telling them it is illegal to handle them does not seem to matter.”
Last year, there was an incident where a group of unsupervised children removed chameleons from one of the smaller trees, presumably to keep them as pets at home.
“There were about seven children in the park mid-morning. An elderly woman saw them and told them not to touch the chameleons but she felt intimidated by them. She saw one boy take one out of his pocket and he told her he was looking for the big one,” the KPA said.
Section 31 of the Nature Conservation Ordinance makes it illegal to keep any wildlife as a pet within the borders of the Western Cape without the requisite permit from CapeNature.
Friedman says it is also illegal to remove any wildlife from any natural space, public park, public garden or nature reserve within the Western Cape. “One may not keep wildlife without a special permit authorising such and a person may not sell, swap or otherwise trade indigenous wildlife species, or transport them within the borders of the Western Cape province without the requisite permit from CapeNature to do so,” he says.
And keeping chameleons in captivity more often than not ends in their death.
Friedman explains that chameleons have very specific care needs. He says they stress out very easily and do not handle sudden changes to their environment well.
“They are an arboreal species, meaning they live the majority of their lives in trees, so they need to be provided with an environment that offers suitable climbing and hiding opportunities that can be difficult to maintain in an indoor aquarium, for example.”
He adds that chameleons require continual special care.
“When neglected they can quickly become sick and will usually die before having their needs met in captivity. They do not make good pets.”
At present, the size of the chameleon population in the park is unknown but the KPA is planning on doing a count later this year.
“We do know, however, that more were seen in the park subsequently (referring to the removal of the chameleons last year) and that there are lots of babies.”
The KPA kindly requests visitors to the park not to handle or remove chameleons.
“And we would like people who use the park to discourage this behaviour when they see it happening.”
Friedman says if anyone does see an individual catch and remove wildlife from any natural space, public park, public garden or nature reserve, they may inform the person that they are breaking the law.
“For which stiff penalties apply if convicted,” he says.
Such acts can be reported to City of Cape Town law enforcement, to the Cape of Good Hope SPCA or CapeNature. The SPCA’s Inspectorate can be contacted 24/7 on 021 700 4158/9 or 083 326 1604.
