Rare chameleon feared extinct found clinging to life in shrinking forest

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

One of the world's rarest and smallest chameleons, a creature feared extinct, has been found alive in the rainforests of Africa. Now scientists are calling for an urgent conservation effort to save the critically endangered species before it's too late.




Chapman's pygmy chameleon, which grows to be just 2 inches (5.5 centimeters) long, was first described in 1992, but went years without being spotted again. Much of its native habitat, the forest in the Malawi Hills, has been cut down for crop growth, and conservationists have worried the species might not have survived the deforestation.

A team from the South African National Biodiversity Institute and the Museums of Malawi surveyed remaining forest patches in hopes they might find some still alive. Walking trails at night using torchlight, they spotted their first pygmy chameleon at the forest's edge, and erupted in gleeful surprise.

"When we found it we got goosebumps and just started jumping around," professor Krystal Tolley of the South African National Biodiversity Institute and the University of the Witwatersrand said in a statement. "We didn't know if we would get any more, but once we got into the forest there were plenty, although I don't know how long that will last."

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/technology/rare-chameleon-feared-extinct-found-clinging-to-life-in-shrinking-forest/ar-AAMRq7T

[Blue Dawn]

1. He is really cute.

It must have been wonderful to have been in their shoes when they were able to locate these pygmy chameleons.