Repeat escapee chameleon found in Alcudia

Alcudia residents and visitors were shocked to see a chameleon confidently mingling with the tourists and locals last Friday afternoon.

In a curious event on Friday, August 16, a chameleon was spotted casually traversing a pedestrian crossing in the middle of the afternoon in the Port of Alcudia. At around 15:00, the Local Police were alerted by a delivery man and immediately dispatched to investigate. They headed straight to the location, the Avinguda de Pere Mas i Reus – which is one of the busiest main streets in the town, and were able to collect the chameleon and take it to the local Municipal Centre of Social Services for safe keeping whilst a hunt for the owner began.

Deciding that the best way to spread the news of the discovery was via social media, a photo of the chameleon was shared across Facebook sites and rapidly became a topic of great interest, fascination and excitement, with hundreds of people commenting and sharing the post. Within half an hour a young woman contacted the police to claim ownership of the chameleon, explaining that it had escaped from its terrarium in her home six months before.

It appears that the chameleon found in the streets of Alcudia is a repeat escapee

However, the curious story of the courageous chameleon didn´t end there, because it transpired that the woman who stepped forward wasn´t actually the legally registered owner, and that she herself had originally found the escapee on the street.

Being a protected species, documentation is necessary to show that the chameleon was legally brought into the country, and if the legal owner doesn´t step forward, the animal will have to be taken to Cofib.