As clean-up operations continue across George following the recent Cape storm, a quiet emergency is unfolding beneath the piles of broken branches and scattered debris. Chameleons, often no bigger than a matchstick and perfectly camouflaged against bark and leaves, are now at serious risk of being crushed, burned, or displaced as crews and residents work through storm damage.
The Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) in George have issued an urgent appeal, with many of these animals still alive in the debris.
The challenge facing rescuers is the fact that chameleons do not move quickly, and they do not stand out in chaotic environments filled with branches, mulch, and garden waste. At night, volunteers are relying on UV torches to locate them. Under ultraviolet light, chameleons briefly glow, making them visible in conditions where they would otherwise remain completely undetected.
Without this equipment, many are likely to be lost during ongoing clean-up work. The SPCA are asking anyone with UV lights or torches to urgently come forward and assist, as even a single tool can significantly improve survival rates.
Authorities and volunteers are also stressing that what happens after a chameleon is found is just as important as spotting it. If discovered, each chameleon should be placed into its own separate container or box. This prevents stress and reduces the risk of injury, as these reptiles are highly sensitive to handling and proximity to others.
All rescued animals should then be taken to the Garden Route SPCA, where they can be assessed and cared for. Residents are being urged to slow down and carefully inspect any piles of branches before clearing or burning them, a step that could make the difference between life and death for hidden wildlife.
The urgency of the rescue effort is amplified by a deeper conservation crisis affecting chameleons across South Africa. Many species, particularly those in the dwarf chameleon group (Bradypodion genus), have already suffered dramatic population declines due to habitat loss and urban expansion.
Some populations have dropped by as much as 85% in recent decades, driven by the rapid transformation of natural habitats into residential and agricultural land. Several of South Africa’s chameleon species are also endemic, meaning they exist nowhere else on Earth. This makes local environmental damage far more serious — if populations disappear here, they are gone globally.
The Cape Dwarf Chameleon, often seen in suburban gardens, is already listed as Near Threatened to Vulnerable, with urban sprawl, pesticide use, and habitat fragmentation continuing to shrink its range.
Even more extreme cases exist, such as the Pondo Dwarf Chameleon, which survives in an extremely limited habitat area of just a few square kilometres, making it highly vulnerable to any disturbance.
Events like the recent storms in the Western Cape highlight an often-overlooked consequence of extreme weather: the disruption of micro-habitats. When branches fall, trees are cleared, and garden waste is piled up, it creates a temporary shelter that wildlife may instinctively use, including chameleons seeking protection.
But once clean-up begins, those same shelters turn into deadly traps. This is why conservation volunteers are pleading for extra caution during disposal and clearing work, especially in residential and peri-urban areas where wildlife and human spaces overlap.
For now, the message from the SPCA is simple: look twice, move slowly, and assume life may be hiding where you least expect it. What appears to be a harmless pile of branches could still be sheltering a living creature, one that may not survive the next shovel, rake, or fire.
In a region where so many chameleon species already face long-term survival threats, every single individual matters more than ever.
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Picture: Regan Dsouza / Pexels
