Funny Sight, Green Anole Lizard at the End of a Day of Driving
Like 1 Dislike 0 Published on 8 Mar 2013
This morning, I went to the convenience store to get coffee, a regular occurrence for me...Upon returning home, I noticed an unfortunate green anole, brown from either camouflage or to better soak of the rays, like i've seen iguanas do in the Florida Keys when it's cold, as it's been pretty nippy here in usually-sunny north florida over the last couple of days. This little guy tucked himself under the windshield where it meets the dashboard and disappeared before i could release it. Usually this would result in a petrified lizard carcass emerging somehow months or weeks later, and unless it's a large snake, I'm not going to disassemble the dash of a car to find a lizard. An hour or two later, I needed to go run some errands, and noticed that on my way back home that this little survivor was now on the passenger door window sill. I reached for the only device available to film this, and managed to get a few seconds. When I arrived home, I got my trusty Playbook and water mister, which I have used to mist the tarantulas I've kept, and it seemed to enjoy that. Then I was able to release it into a nearby tree and watch it climb about 20 feet to safety.. (more below)
Green Anoles are often called Chameleons, but are better named False Chameleons, because they are not the same species of Chameleon that we all see... the lumbering, sloth-type reptiles which change color to match their surroundings when frightened or with extremes of conditions, or even emotions. If my memory serves correctly, those are known as "old world chameleons", while this type of smaller lizard is most seen frequently in everyone's bushes and fauna around their home. I don't think i've ever even seen one of these lizards in true woodlands in florida, so they seem as about as semi-domesticated or "used to" man as the local squirrels and pigeons. This is one of those happy ending stories or minor occurrences which probably occur hundreds or even thousands of times in my neighbors or even your yards, but I'm trying to "stop and smell the roses" with the seemingly little things which occur, and this little anecdote is no different! thanks for viewing and hopefully you enjoyed it.