Chameleon sanctuary created

CHAMELEON champion Rosemary Harrison hopes everyone along the lower stretches of the Mngeni will permanently change colour in favour of the little creatures she loves.

“We have got to convert all the factory owners and people,” the Adopt A River volunteer said while supervising the clearing of alien vegetation along the river in Springfield.

For years, illegal dumping has been uncontrolled there, both brazenly by day and sneakily by night. Now, a portion is taking a different look with strips of plastic cordon marking the indigenous trees and patches of land heavy machinery must not disturb.

The reason – it’s where dwarf chameleons must be protected so that they can thrive.

“This is an ideal habitat for dwarf chameleons, which are under threat along the coast,” said Harrison. “They like grassland and riverine areas with a few bushes. We are going to try and save as much area as we can so we can reconvert it into a better habitat for these chameleons.”

Two have been spotted in the area that is being cleared.

She said it was important to have chameleon sanctuaries in as many areas as can be managed along the river to “connect all the pockets so the gene flow can be spread”.

The area already has populations inside and immediately outside the Beachwood Mangroves Nature Reserve, along the river to the Umgeni Bird Park and probably along the Umhlangane Canal.

She said threats include brush cutting, fires and road development.