Florida is famous for having some pretty unusual plants and animals, and the Florida green anole is one of them. Having lived in Florida a good bit of my life, I tended to take these cute little green lizards for granted. They aren’t overly bothered by people, so they are common in shopping plazas, porches, woods, and along fences. In other words, pretty much every where in both the city and in the country. Once you leave the southeastern United States, though, you may see other types of lizards, but no green anoles. In fact, the green anole is the only anole native to the United States.

Anoles are related to iguanas, which are commonly kept as pets. Like iguanas, anoles have the ability to change their color from green to brown and back. Their color can be effected by the temperature, the color of their surroundings, and their moods. Anoles change their colors by activating and deactivating a specific hormone. Besides turning brown on brown surfaces, they also tend to turn brown when the temperature drops below 70 degrees, or when they are stressed or upset. When happy, or when trying to attract a mate, anoles tend to become a very bright, almost fluorescent green. A couple of years ago I had a young one that came to my bathroom window almost every night to hunt moths and insects attracted by the light. It was a very adept hunter, and was always a beautiful bright green while hunting.

Unfortunately for the green anole, in the 1970s the Cuban brown anole was introduced into Florida, and they have slowly taken over much of the green anole’s habitat. Brown anoles also have been known to hunt and eat green anole young. Green anoles are not nearly as common as they once were, and their numbers are still declining. They are making some adaptations, though. The brown anoles tend to be more ground dwelling, so green anoles now tend to stay in the trees and larger shrubs. So, if you are lucky enough to have green anoles around, make sure you keep plenty of trees and large shrubs growing to allow them continue to thrive.