Amazing Chameleons

There are 202 kinds of chameleons(变色龙) in the world that scientists know about. 42% of these different kinds of chameleons live in Madagascar.

Chameleons are famous for their ability to change colors.

Scientists used to think these animals do that to hide from danger. But now they know the main reason is to communicate with each other. Chameleons can change colors to draw other chameleons’ attention or to warn them to go away. They can use their colors to show that they are angry or scared sometimes.

So if colors are not for hiding from danger, how do chameleons stay safe? It turns out that they stay safe by moving backward and forward in a strange way. By moving that way, a chameleon looks less like a moving animal. Instead, that makes it look more like a leaf swinging in the wind.

A chameleon's tongue is very long and moves very fast.

To catch food, a chameleon hides in the trees until an insect walks by. Then it shoots out its tongue to catch the insect all of a sudden. A chameleon can catch insects as far away as two times its body length. The end of its tongue is very sticky. When a chameleon catches an insect, the tongue shoots forward at a great speed. And the insect is caught in a flash.

Chameleons are amazing animals. But like many other animals, they're in trouble. Many kinds of chameleons are endangered at present. This is because the forests and other areas where they live are disappearing or are being changed by people. And when the area is changed too much, it becomes difficult for chameleons to live there.

Scientists are working to help the endangered chameleons by learning as much as they can about these colorful animals.