Chester Zoo becomes the first in the UK to breed the world’s largest chameleon
Ten rare Parson’s Chameleons have hatched at the Zoo and the breakthrough could save others from extinction
Last updated 13th Oct 2022
The first of the rare tiny hatchlings arrived after nearly 19 months in incubation, which is a world record length of time for any reptile on the planet.
It’s just 2cm long and weighs 1.5 grams, which is around the same as of a large paperclip, but will grow to be around 70cm in length.
Though just ten chameleons have emerged from their eggs so far, another 17 are still in incubation.
This success has been labelled as a “momentous event” and reptile experts say that the skills and techniques developed to achieve the breakthrough could help save other species from extinction.
The Parson’s species is the world’s largest chameleon and Madagascar is the only place on Earth where they can be found in the wild. However, deforestation in Madagascar has pushed them close to extinction.
Jay Redbond, Team Manager of reptiles at the zoo, said: “To be the first UK zoo to successfully hatch a clutch of Parson’s chameleons is a momentous event for the team here – but most importantly it’s a major breakthrough for the species.
“The levels of intricate care and attention to detail provided by team over a number of years to achieve this breeding success has been truly remarkable.
"We’ve had to carefully replicate the seasonal variations of Madagascar and mimic the exact same conditions these chameleons experience on the island, right here in Chester, and that’s no easy feat.
"Every slight tweak to temperature and humidity each day and night has been meticulously recorded and, now that we’ve cracked this, we believe we’ll be able to take this information and apply it to help save some of Madagascar’s other threatened reptile species.”
The Parson’s chameleon population has declined by more than 20% in the last 20 years.
It’s because of a widespread habitat loss on the island of Madagascar. Its forest home has become so fragmented that experts think the reptiles are unlikely to survive without drastic intervention.
Gerardo Garcia, Curator of Lower Vertebrates & Invertebrates said: “The widespread destruction of the forests on the island has seen more than 90% of its trees cut down for agriculture and logging – taking with it hundreds of precious species that cannot be found anywhere else on Earth, just like the Parson’s chameleon.
“That’s why we need to learn as much as we can, as quickly as we can to help prevent species from becoming extinct.
“These new hatchlings may be small in stature for now, but their impact will be huge in helping us to accelerate our efforts to save some of Madagascar’s rarest reptiles.”
The mesmerising creatures were named after British physician James Parsons who was born in Devon in 1705.
Like other chameleons the Parsons species can change colour in response to their surroundings and temperature. Their slow movement and camouflage enable the predators to catch prey off-guard.
The first little hatchling broke from its shell less than two weeks after the Zoo celebrated its 91st year in June.
As a not-for-profit, the zoo works with more than 3,000 species globally, including 140 international animal conservation breeding programmes to help the species on the brink of extinction.