Untitled Document
 Can
you guess what the animal in the picture is? It is so small that it
can sit on a human thumb nail. No, it is not a toy.
It is a real animal. It is hard to believe, but it is a chameleon!
The tiny chameleon was found
last week on the island of Madagascar by a U.K. wildlife photographer named
Will Burrard-Lucas.
The tiny chameleon was accidentally found by Will
and his brother Matt. The brothers from London spent four weeks on
Madagascar to photograph as much of the
island’s unique wildlife as possible. When the brothers were having
lunch at a park, Will spotted a very small moving
creature.
“We were so thrilled to see this little
creature. We were just having our lunch when I spotted the super small
chameleon camouflaged under a pile of leaves,” said Will.
“This one is a fully-grown adult, so you
can imagine how small the babies are.”
The tiny creature is the Brookesia chameleon. It is usually found
in the wild among fallen leaves on rainforest floors. It protects itself from predators by disguising itself
as a dead leaf. The super small animal’s tongue is longer than its
entire body. It feeds on
a variety of tiny insects such as small crickets, moths, and even spiders.
Madagascar is famous for its unique species of animals and tiny
creatures. The animals have evolved that way because
of the island’s unique ecosystem. It is difficult
for large animals to thrive on Madagascar because
it is divided into many small ecosystems. |
|
|
|
