CHAMAELEON OF PYLOS (Chamaeleo africanus)
Safety Population Captive Breeding
In collaboration with the Hellenic Herpetological Society and Attica Zoological Park, and within the framework of a relevant agreement with the Ministry of Environment, Pelargos NATURA implemented a pilot program for breeding of a safety population of the Chameleon of Pylos (Chamaeleo africanus) under controlled conditions. This species is found in all of Europe only in a small area of the Peloponnese and in a very limited population, around 300 individuals, rendering it critically endangered.
The goal of the program was to gain more knowledge about the reproduction of the species, so as to examine the possibility of eventually creating a safety population, in order to prevent its extinction. Given that almost all survival problems of wild animals are anthropogenic, raising awareness and sensitizing the younger generation of the local community is always imperative, so that they can love and protect the species in the future. For this reason, we always propose to create pioneering educational school material -which we actually produced in this case- and to promote its adoption. The program ran for three years (2014-2017) in non-public areas of Attica Zoo Park, especially designed to simulate the ideal natural environment of this species. With the meticulous care of the specialized Park keepers and under the supervision of herpetologist Dr. Maria Dimaki, the scientifically selected pairs of the species successfully reproduced during Years 2 and 3.
