Assessor: Krystal Tolley
This species is listed on CITES Appendix II, with more than 340 individuals exported between 2014 and 2019 although most exports are listed as captive bred (UNEP-WCMC 2018). The species has an overall distribution of just over 4,000 km2, but the fragmented nature of the habitat results in very localised small subpopulations. Targeted collections are easy to carry out, as the habitat is highly degraded and fragmented, making chameleons easy to spot in the vegetation. Nevertheless, the level of exploitation is overall affecting only a minor proportion of the wild population.
The small local subpopulations in habitat fragments are vulnerable to over-collection and could result in local extinctions. However, the range is larger than 4,000 km2 and there are likely to be more than 2,500 individuals in the population.
There has been permanent removal from the wild of this species (UNEP-WCMC 2022), but this is not likely to be significant enough to affect the population significantly.
This species is viviparous, and other species n the genus give birth to clutches of 5-15 offspring annually (Tolley & Burger 2007). Given their life history, it is likely that the species could recover from limited permanent removals, although their habitat is highly fragmented and recolonisation potential is limited, given they are habitat specialists (da Silva & Tolley 2013). A collector could feasibly harvest and entire subpopulation in a fragment, resulting in local extinctions in these small fragments. However, it is likely that in most cases, these fragments would be recolonised given the scale.