Parson’s Caméléon programme reaches a new milestone in Madagascar

A new video dedicated to the 2026 mission of our Calumma parsonii research and conservation programme is now available on the Caméléon Center Conservation YouTube channel.

Launched in 2025 in the Vohimana Reserve, the first long-term monitoring programme of Parson’s chameleon in its natural habitat has this year become a permanent programme spanning two forests. It now covers both subspecies found in the region: Calumma parsonii parsonii in Vohimana and Calumma parsonii cristifer in the Iaroka community forest. Two local teams thus ensure a continuous scientific presence in the field.

In Vohimana, the 2026 mission enabled us to check on the animals that had been monitored for over a year, replace their transmitters and complete the monitoring system. The examinations carried out by our vets revealed no complications related to the harnesses, confirming the effectiveness of the protocol put in place.

At Iaroka, the first individuals of C. p. cristifer were fitted with transmitters to initiate a comparable monitoring programme. This expansion will eventually enable us to study six individuals of each subspecies simultaneously and compare their spatial ecology within the same forest corridor.

Every week, students and local guides search for the fitted chameleons and record their location, habitat, microclimatic conditions, behaviour and health status. More than 19,000 ecological, spatial and behavioural data points are expected to have been collected by the end of 2026.

The programme also supports the training of six Madagascan Master’s students, who rotate between the two sites to ensure continuity of monitoring. At the same time, it generates a regular income for the students, community guides and local forest management organisations.

In this new video, discover the teams involved, the field operations and the key stages of this mission, which marks the transition from an initial scientific study to a fully-fledged permanent observatory for the Parson’s chameleon.

Watch the video on our YouTube channel and subscribe to follow the programme’s future progress.

Thank you to our partners

We would like to extend our warmest thanks to our new partners, the Citadel of Besançon and Intellibio, as well as to all those who have supported this programme for several years: the Pairi Daiza Foundation, the Le PAL Nature Foundation, the Sigean African Reserve, the Paris Zoological Park, Chester Zoo, the Sauvain-Petitpierre Foundation, the Association francophone des soigneurs animaliers (AFAS) and MUZOO.

Our thanks also go to our local partners, who are essential to the day-to-day running of the programme: the NGO L’Homme et l’Environnement, VOI Iaroka, IMPACT Madagascar and the University of Toliara.