We have been having a quiet few weeks. Goobie is back at school and finding the transition to Year One hard. So we’ve been staying close to home, giving him time and space to decompress after a busy week at school. But the thing I love about living in Cyprus is that you don’t have to go far from home to see something interesting. The other day, we were paid a visit by a baby chameleon!

My friend found the chameleon under her car and brought it round to show me. I’ve seen three chameleons since living in Cyprus – two near my house. But I’ve never seen a baby chameleon before. The baby was a tiny, perfectly formed miniature that was dwarfed by my index finger. I love how it used its prehensile tail to cling on. Beautiful.

I had the opportunity to find out the answer to a question I posed on this blog last year when I saw an adult chameleon walking across my street. Will they change to any colour? I lined a container with pink card and sat the baby chameleon in it for 10 minutes. It looked at me suspiciously with eyes that moved independently from each other.

We thought we could detect a faint hue of pink, but it was just the reflection of the card. I had a look online and found out that it’s a Mediterranean Chameleon and it can change colour from yellow/green to brown/grey. Not pink. But no less impressive. On our hike in the Akamas Peninsula we saw a chameleon change from bright green to dark brown as it climbed a tree. Apparently they don’t always change colour to camouflage themselves. They also change colour in response to light, temperature and emotions.

My friend was concerned the baby chameleon might be hungry and the children looked for insects to give it. She needn’t have worried because later on a fly landed on her hand near the chameleon. In a split second, the chameleon’s sticky tongue shot out and gobbled it up. Apparently the fly was nearly as big as the chameleon’s head!

The baby chameleon was released in my friend’s garden, away from the road. It hasn’t been seen since – but it could be nearby, perfectly camouflaged. Watching with its incredible eyes.